


Starlett Nights

by PrettyboyWrecked



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: AU, CanonxOC, Chicago, F/M, Romance, Scarlett Greyson, Stefan Salvatore - Freeform, Supernatural - Freeform, Vampire Diaries - Freeform, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-09 06:31:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13475697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrettyboyWrecked/pseuds/PrettyboyWrecked
Summary: They've spent every day since he was 1 getting to know each other. Learning to trust, to protect, and to love one another. Every day of their lives, they were together. No other person had ever mattered more to each other. Now join us as we attempt to tell the harrowing story of one Stefan Salvatore and the childhood love who would forever stay by his side, Scarlett Grayson.





	1. Books

**Author's Note:**

> Hello to those of you who came here from my fanfiction account! A lot of people over there read this story and I was really surprised by the feedback it got, so I'm posting it here with some bonus chapters! I haven't actually written any of the bonus chapters yet, but they're to come! 
> 
> To all those who didn't come here from my FFnet account, welcome to my AU StefanxOC story based on a role play! Take a cookie, kick up your feet, eat a bagel. Make yourselves at home! Don't forget to leave a review ;)

Stefan had spent the day once again holed up on the couch in their living room with an old Dickens book that was faded, the cover feathering into little pieces and wasting away with the passing of time. The pages were yellow and soft, feeling almost dusty beneath his fingers with how easily they rubbed off on his them when he ran his thumb in a circular motion in the corner of the page, like he had since he was small, and his mother first started teaching him to read.  Many of the books that sat on the little bookshelf they’d managed to find while out walking in town one day had small indentations in the pages that indicated he’d started doing the same thing to them. His head was tucked into the corner of the sofa with one leg hanging off the cushions and the other propped on the opposite arm from where he was laying his head. For the first time in a long time, he resembled a much younger version of himself. It wasn’t hard to see a young 15-year-old Stefan sprawled on the couch in the same way, fingers rubbing circles into the corners of his book pages and his eyes trained on the pages with a practiced grace. His eyelashes cast a familiar shadow over his cheekbones as he ran his eyes back and forth across the words on the page.

He could feel her presence before she even made her entrance into the living room. Even if he weren’t a vampire, he was sure he’d have known where she was in the house without even having to try. They’d had a connection like this since they were small enough that he couldn’t remember the days or the weeks that passed before they didn’t spend the day together. He had been connected at the soul to this girl since before they day they’d met, like an echo phone with two cans tied to a string and pulled tight between two spots on a map.  “You know, some might say it’s rude to stare.” He said before she got a chance to even open her mouth. She smiled, and he heard the remnants of a soft giggle passing her lips that likely faded before it had a chance to really blossom into a laugh. “I can’t believe you still read that stupid book.” She commented back, walking the short distance between the doorway and the couch in her bare feet and curling one leg onto the couch so she was situated above him but not quite sitting on top of him just yet.

“It’s my favorite book.” Stefan said in a soft tone. He knew she was well aware of this fact, he knew she could see it in all the tell-tale little signs that had been there since they were children and he’d refused to read anything his father gave him to study, and would instead sit on the couch in the foyer, with her sprawled out on the couch on the other end while he read allowed in his exaggerated childish voice that made the whole thing sound more like a sad joke than a serious fictional story. Over the years things had changed, when he’d turned about 13 or 14 he’d hit an unexpected growth spurt and there was no longer room for the two of them on the same couch. Too afraid to break his father’s strict rules about affection towards friends or girls he wasn’t approved to go off courting, she had to sit on the floor with her chin propped on the cushion of the couch while his reading slowly became more and more serious and genuine throughout the years. It wasn’t until they had the brilliant idea to bring the book with them to that spot only they ever visited. No one had ever walked in on them there, and they could sit however and wherever they wanted. It started out small with her sitting on his stomach and leaning back against his knees which were often propped up with his feet planted on the ground, but it quickly and easily morphed into something more comfortable, with her laying down on top of him with her head nestled beneath his chin where it was propped on the log they usually sat on top of.

Scarlett smiled as she watched him take in the words on the page for what she was certain was likely the thousandth time since his mother gave it to him. One hand reached up to stroke along his bare arm before she adjusted herself above him and laid down on his chest where she normally fell asleep whether he read aloud or not. His arm instinctively found it’s way over her shoulder and down around her waist and he felt her settle into his shoulder and collar bone like she’d always fit there, because she had. “You look just like you did when we were kids.” She said as she rubbed her fingers gently over his chest right in the middle of his sternum. She was likely the only person who knew he enjoyed having that spot caressed, especially when he was stressed or overworked about something serious that had him brooding in their bedroom all day. “I’m surprised you haven’t rubbed holes into those pages by now with how much you do that.” She said as she reached up to run her fingers over his where they held the corner of the page, and his eyes followed her hand with a small smile.

“200 years and it’s finally starting to wear down.” He lifted his thumb to reveal a significantly faded and thinned out page corner. It was clear the other pages were just as worn down from how much he read the same book, and they were just about ready to pop holes at any moment. “I’m probably going to have to get a new one when this one stops being able to be used the way I use it.” He said, his tone carrying a touch of sadness. This was the only thing he owned that was left over from his childhood, besides Scarlett he had no ties to his human life left other than this book. The idea of having to familiarize himself with a whole new book that didn’t even hold any of the same memories this book held was unpleasant and he didn’t like it at all. But at least he had another 200 years of memories to make with a new book like it.

“Stefan Salvatore, sometimes I think you’re entirely too sentimental for your own good.” Scarlett commented with a chuckle as she ran a hand through his hair. He’d finally gotten over his stupid grudge with scissors and started letting her cut his hair on a regular basis a few decades back. It had only taken growing up, becoming a vampire, losing his entire family and then finding peace and solace in a new way of life with her for him to break down and decide he was ready to act like an adult about his hair, but she’d managed to convince him one way or another. Now she saw to it that it was never so long that it covered his vision, but only just long enough to fall in his eyes if he didn’t style it. She’d always liked seeing it loose and slightly in his eyes, it made him look so young and innocent, like he had when he was too small to get away from Aunt Bernie when she pinned him down and took to cutting his hair for him. Stefan just gave her that look that was reserved only for her and then rolled his eyes. “You know why this book is so important to me.” She thought back to the night they’d first made love. He’d been reading it to her aloud in a position not too terribly different than this. They’d spent their entire lives falling in love and making plans to run away one day, and by the time he was 17 and she was 18 they’d stopped caring what their families wanted. She’d already nearly been forced into a marriage she had no desire to be a part of, and they’d finally come out on the other side with each other. That had truly been all they’d ever wanted all along, was to be together. Whether they’d had the guts to admit it to the other or not, their lives had been spent almost fated to fall in love from the very moment they met. It had started slow and lazy and easy and it had simply progressed until they were both dozing off in his bed as they always had since they were small, only this time they were both devoid of clothing and had little secret smiles on their faces that only they could explain the meaning of.

“We can make new first-time memories with a different book, Stefan.” She replied with a soft smile, but she could see by the look in his eye that it wasn’t the same. He would never get to do anything for the first time as a human again. Everything he experienced, he would experience as a vampire for the rest of his life, however long that may be. “Don’t look at me like that, Stefan, it’s still the same and you know it. Plus, it’s not like your book is going anywhere. It’ll still be right here, and you can still go back and read it just to remember all the great things we did with this book if you really want to. But if you keep reading this specific copy, eventually there won’t be anything left for you to read and you’ll be stuck with a new book that’s not important, and an old book that can’t even accomplish what you kept it for in the first place. Then where would we be, huh?” She rose a brow and gave him her stern-but-endearing look and he let out a heaving sigh and then smiled. “You’re the worst, you know that?” He said but bent to kiss her slow and heavy just the same. She would always know just what to say to lift his spirits and remind him why he needed to do things, so he didn’t fall into bad habits and spend his days holed up in his room ignoring the entire world. She giggled at his comment and kissed him back eagerly, but pulled away and sat up, leaving him there with a pout on his face and a groan escaping his chest. “Calm down, Captain Complainer. I’ve got to go to work, and you should probably find out when your boss needs you in today. Just because we’re undead doesn’t mean we don’t have to be responsible!” Stefan let out an annoyed sigh and closed the book. She was right. He hated that she was right. Unfortunately, it happened way too much for him to really say anything about it, because that meant he was usually wrong and there was no way he was opening that can of worms.


	2. Roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Scarlett's birthday and Stefan is determined to give her the best gift he possibly can after decades of falling in love.

**~STARLETT~**

The year was 1979. They’d been together so long now that they’d stopped counting the years and had started simply counting the decades that went by side by side. It was no secret that Stefan had hardly looked at another woman since he was a year old and she’d come in with her little toddler legs and waddled into his life. She was the light of his life. He couldn’t picture his world without her in it, likely because he’d never had to, but he certainly wasn’t about to start now. Every year on her birthday he got her something she could cherish for the rest of her life but this year he was determined to go above and beyond.

Scarlett Rose Salvatore had been her name since they’d thrown caution to the wind and gotten married somewhere just outside of Mystic Falls shortly after he found her and turned her with the promise of never having to see her father again. They could disappear, together, and no one could ever hurt her again. _Would_ ever hurt her again, especially not that rat bastard of a father that liked to keep her locked at home as often and as long as he could. Not while Stefan was around, and if he had his way he’d never leave her side. Of course, things were a bit different now. Their families were both dead and he had no doubts that if it came down to it, she could and would do whatever it took to protect herself. She wasn’t a damsel anymore, she was the savior. The hero. And he loved that about her. Loved that she’d gone from small and afraid and locked inside her own mind to this beautiful, wonderful, open young woman that could take on the world without batting an eye. Today, he wanted to show her just how much he truly loved her and cherished everything she was and everything she’d become.

“Stefan?” Scarlett called from the bedroom of their shabby little single-story flat with half a kitchen, a rinky-dink little bathroom and a bedroom small enough to make just one person claustrophobic. He smiled as he closed the door and dropped his keys on the table. “Yeah, it’s me!” He called back. He’d told her she wasn’t to get out of bed for the entire day. He was glad to see she’d likely followed his orders and spent the day lazing about in her underwear and that stupid old shirt that she’d managed to salvage from his childhood home before it was burned to the ground. It didn’t even look the same, and it certainly didn’t smell like him by now, so he wasn’t sure what attachment she had to it but he wasn’t complaining. Not like she didn’t look incredible in it, maybe even more so than she did in her most dolled up dresses with her make-up done perfectly.

“Ugh! What took you so long? You’ve been gone for _hours!_ ” Stefan chuckled under his breath and as soon as he had his shoes off, he was down the hall practically flinging himself onto the bed next to her. She let out a little squeal of surprise and excitement and slapped his arm as soon as he was still. “Stefan Salvatore don’t you do scare me like that!” he felt the chuckle develop into a real laugh and rolled his eyes as he grabbed her hand and pulled it up to his lips, so he could drop a quick but passionate kiss to the back of it. “Happy Birthday, Mrs. Salvatore.” He said with a wide genuine grin, the little barely-there dimples from his young childhood making an appearance. “Would you like to finally know what your surprise is?” He asked with a brow raised and a little tilt of his head.

She squealed again, this time shorter and more of a shriek of excitement than before as she bounced slightly on the bed, sitting up and closing her eyes with eager anticipation. “I’m ready!” Her hands extended in front of her as if she were waiting for him to hand her something small, maybe a necklace or a set of earrings like he normally gave her for all her birthdays and likely had to save up for months just to be able to afford. His smile softened, and he made quick work of pulling his shirt off over his head and then let out a sigh, glancing down to the beautiful rose that adorned his top right shoulder and then he turned back to face her. “Open your eyes, Scar.” A sudden wave of insecurity passed over him. They’d never really been that couple that got tattoos in honor of the other. But they’d been together for so long now, there was no way he would ever love another woman the way he loved her. It wasn’t possible for him to feel this way for anyone else, so it wasn’t just some rash decision. He’d been planning this day for years.

The moment her eyes opened, the room went completely silent. The insecurity got worse yet, because she’d never reacted this way to any gift he’d ever given her. He watched her with rapt attention, doing his best to gauge her reaction and figure out what was going on inside her head. For the first time since they were small, he couldn’t figure out what she was feeling and that made him more uncomfortable than he liked to admit. “Scarlett…?” He asked, hoping to shake her out of whatever trance she’d fallen into. She didn’t seem to hear him as she lifted a hand and traced the lines of the intricate rose now permanently imprinted into his skin. “I can get it removed if it was a bad idea.” He said, a touch of sadness seeping into his tone because he honestly didn’t like that idea. This felt like a little piece of her was with him no matter where they both went. As corny and disgustingly romantic as that was, he loved it. But he didn’t want to keep it if it made her feel…uncomfortable or pressured or anything to that extent.

Before he could even finish his line of thought, a sweet bubbly giggle escaped her lips and he could suddenly see the tears shining bright and present in her blue eyes. She covered the rose with as much of her hand as she could, though it was a bit bigger than her fingers could reach and stroked her whole hand down his arm before leaning forward and dropping a tender kiss to the heart of the rose where her initials were neatly scribbled in cursive to accompany the theme of the tattoo. “I love it.” She said simply, brightly. He could hear the tears mingled with the joy in her voice and he breathed a sigh of relief before he reached forward and slid one hand around her small waist. “Well, I love _you_ , so I’m glad you don’t hate it.” He replied with a small but genuine smile playing with the corners of his lips. She released another ring of giggles that he loved hearing from her so much and bent down to connect their lips in a passionate kiss, hands cupping themselves around his jaw as he tugged her closer by the hand around her waist and sat up so he could nudge her slight frame towards the pillows and situate himself above her on the bed. The heated make-out session lasted a solid ten minutes and by the end of it, she was sure she’d be out of breath had she needed to breathe to survive. When he finally puled away to leave a bespeckling of light kisses along her jaw and forehead and down the bridge of her nose, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in closer to bury her face in the crook of his neck, his arms sliding slightly awkwardly underneath her back to circle around her, and he settled his weight on top of her. “Happy Birthday, beautiful.” He said, a smile curling his lips as he buried his nose in her hair. “You said that already.” She commented, amusement clear in her voice. He gave a little hum of agreement before he spoke again. “And I’ll say it again, and again, and again…. because I love you.”

She felt her heart swell with pride and glee at his words. He’d always been this way on her birthdays; doting on her and treating her like a queen. It started because her father treated her like an ant even on the most special of days, and he always believed she deserved at least one day where she could feel like royalty to make up for how her father treated her. But even after they’d left Mystic Falls and her father had died and they’d moved on with their lives to a time when they didn’t even think about him anymore Stefan had continued the tradition. It always made her feel like the most important woman in the world, and if she were to ask him he’d simply respond by saying “Because you are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick second one-shot. Hope you all enjoyed this one, it was a little shorter than the first but I'm not too bothered by that. My next one on AO3 will be a songfic so prepare yourseves for that! I also might be starting an entire songfic series, but I'm not sure so comment below and let me know what you think of that. I love songfics and I haven't been able to write them in ages!


	3. Dances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stefan prepares a romantic night out for he and his wife Scarlett. They hadn't been to a ball in ages, literally. He just couldn't wait to see her in that dress, standing in the middle of that ballroom only for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh! I can't believe this has gotten such possitive feedback. I really expected it to be disregarded, and now it has so many views and 7 hits already on AO3???? I'm BLOWN AWAY. All of you are so incredible and really do keep me going when I'm having trouble finding inspiration, which to be fair isn't often because the girl who created Scarlett in the first place just gives me SO MUCH beautiful inspiration to work with and I love her to pieces. 
> 
> Anyway, here's that songfic I promised! It's to the tune of "Perfect Symphony" by Ed Sheeran and Andrea Bocelli. I will include translations for the Italian lyrics in the end notes, but you should be aware that Italian doesn't translate directly into English so it won't be as effective or beautiful in the translation, it's just meant to give you an idea of why I relate this song to them so much.

**~STARLETT~**

In 2020, somewhere close to 300 years after Katherine got him and his brother shot by their own father, Stefan had managed to find an annual ball that took place in New York. They’d moved here early in 2015 and had spent the last 5 years getting to know their neighbors and enjoying their time living in one place rather than jumping from place to place. Stefan had taken up medical classes in the early 1990s and was currently working as a resident at Belleview Hospital Center. Scarlett was an elementary teacher for primarily 3rd graders, and they had a 15-year-old son who was likely just getting home from school. They’d named him Oliver, in honor of the book that had served as the beginning to all that they cherished to this day.

One of his coworkers had mentioned that the ball was themed like the late 1800s, and Stefan’s heart jolted at the sudden flash of images from his previous human life of Scarlett dressed in one of her fitted dresses and corset. A smile plastered on his face when he got to her school after taking off early, he walked up to her classroom and paused to watch her sitting in her chair behind that desk she’d been sitting at the last few years and reading through the various homework assignments for the kids. He could tell she knew he was there because he caught the smile she was trying to hide behind a serious expression. She wasn’t doing a very good job. He pulled the door open and walked in, only turning to close and lock the door behind him. Scarlett rose a brow and turned her head to look at him. “Stefan, we can’t have sex in my classroom I work with children, that’s really not appropriate.” She said without missing a beat. You could see by the look in her eyes that she was only teasing, but if he was trying to seduce her in a 3rd grade classroom she would have to shut that down because she wasn’t _that_ much of a rebel.

“You’re crushing my dreams here, babe.” He said with a dramatic sigh as he approached her desk slowly. For a second, she was almost afraid he really was going to try convincing her, until he reached into his pocket and pulled out two slips of cardstock paper with fancy old designs on them. “There’s a ball this weekend.” He jumped to the chase, too excited about the whole concept to beat around the bush. All teasing aside, he couldn’t wait to see her put on a corset and a gorgeous dress that made her look so much like they were just teenagers again. Flicking his fingers slightly so the tickets splayed out on display in his hand, he looked at her with that soft boyish smile that only made an appearance when they talked about something dear to his heart. Something from their childhood, or a moment in time that he cherished between them above all others. “It’s based in the 1800s.” Stefan continued, wagging his brows just a bit for effect. She examined the tickets in his hand and smiled that blushing bubbly smile that he knew how to bring out in her with just the slightest bit of effort, standing up from her chair as he stepped behind her desk to hold them out to her at a closer range. “I don’t suppose I could convince you to find a pretty Renaissance dress and join me for just one dance? I know you know how to spot a genuine one, and everyone there will be positively green with envy.” She wasn’t sure if he meant over him or the dress, but she didn’t think it really mattered. One hand sneakily slid around her waist and she sighed, dropping her head behind her and leaving a waterfall of blonde cascading down her back to touch his fingers.

“Only you.” She said with the fading remnants of a giggle evident in her voice. “Did you really think you’d have to try that hard to convince me?” Her arms slid around his neck and she tilted her head to the side. “You know I’ve always loved balls. All the fancy gowns and the corsets, as much as I hate corsets.” Stefan laughed at that and saw the memories flash through his mind of a young 13-year-old him with shaky hands trying to hide the fact that he was so terribly attracted to her while he helped adjust the corset around her slim form. “I always used to get so nervous when you asked me to help you loosen those, you know.” Scarlett let out a real giggle this time and gave him that look like she wasn’t surprised. “I always knew you seemed weird about that.” She replied with a grin. Stefan hummed for lack of a better response and then leaned in close and nudged his nose against hers. “I can’t wait to see you all dressed up like when we were kids.” He said before planting a quick kiss on her lips, his smile lingering when he pulled away. “I always loved seeing you in those fancy outfits, it suits you.” The flattery didn’t go over Scarlett’s head, but it also wasn’t uncommon. He was the kind to compliment her at every opportunity he had, and a very selfish part of her reveled in it and cherished it and never wanted it to stop. So far, over 200 years into their intimate relationship and nearly 300 since the day they met, he had yet to go an entire week without dropping some unexpected and unplanned compliment in her direction. She didn’t think it would come to an end anytime soon, as he never seemed to run out of nice things to say to or about her. Nonetheless, Scarlett blushed and leaned up to return the kiss with a deeper part 2. “Mm,” Stefan mumbled against her lips and leant into her hard, his other arm making quick efforts to wrap around her waist and pull her as tight against him as he could.

It only took a second for the teenager still locked away inside him to take over, and she could feel his hands slowly but surely make their way down her back and into the back pockets of her jeans, fingers squeezing tight and pulling her even further against him if that was even possible.  She let out a little squeak of surprise and maybe a touch of thrill. She was sure her heart would have fluttered in her chest at the fact that he still wanted her the same as he had when they were so young, so many, many decades ago. But she had to be responsible – she was a 3rd grade teacher and one of her students could walk in at any moment. She let out a chuckle and pushed him away a little. “Stefan Salvatore, we’re in the middle of an elementary classroom! Where are your manners?” He simply groaned, not budging more than an inch. “The door is locked, no one will even notice a little groping.” He mumbled against her lips and then went in for the kill one more time, but she was quick to dodge him and spin herself out of his grip. “No sir, that is not how this works!” He sighed long and heavy as he threw his head back in a petulant tantrum at the prospect of not getting what he wanted.

“Fine!” Stefan whined, drawing out the vowel and then pocketing the tickets which were already crumpled and wrinkling from the grip he’d had on her back end. “3rd graders win this one, but I’ll be back.” He said as he took quick, stumbling steps backwards towards the locked door. “You just wait, I’ll seduce you in this cramped room yet. There’s even a supply closet we could hide in if you’re really that concerned.” His hand was reaching up behind him and opening the door before she could respond. “I’ll see you at home!” He called over his shoulder with a telling smirk and well-timed wink that she couldn’t help but blush a little at because it was like nothing had changed since the day they’d finally confessed their undying love for each other. And they’d been right. It hadn’t faded or died over time, it had only gotten better. More mature. Older. Richer. And it was better so knowing she had the rest of eternity to fall deeper in love with this damned man who was going to get her fired one day.

**_Later that week…_ **

Scarlett came out of the bathroom with the corset for under her dress on and laced as much as she could get it on her own. As a young girl she’d learned quickly how to do it on her own, but she still usually needed help after a certain point. She let out an irritated groan when she saw Stefan, laying across the bed still wrapped in a towel with wet hair dripping on her pillow after their quick shared shower earlier that day. He was scrolling through his phone with a blank expression on his face and one arm wrapped behind his head. She couldn’t deny that he looked stunning without any clothes on, but that was absolutely _not_ the point. “Why aren’t you ready? You’re going to make us late, Stefan!” Stefan looked up from his phone and then frowned, checking the time to make sure he hadn’t been laying there longer than he’d initially thought. “We still have an hour before we have to be there, I don’t need that long to get ready. We already showered. The limousine isn’t even going to be here for 45 minutes.” She huffed out her indignation and glanced down at her own half-dressed state. “Could you at least help me tighten this the rest of the way? I can’t get the last few, my arms don’t bend that way.” He chuckled at the little pout on her lips and tossed his phone down onto the bed. He was up and behind her before she could get the hair pulled over her shoulder to allow him better access, and when he reached her his hands slid around her waist and his lips found their way to the trail along her neck that always made her weak in the knees no matter how hard she tried to resist it. She sucked in a quick breath and swatted his arm, to which he simply laughed and then pulled away enough to tighten up the corset for her, hands lingering along the curve of her waist a moment or so longer than necessary because he simply couldn’t get enough of her even though he’d had her almost every day since they were teenagers. The cute smile remained on her lips because he knew exactly how he felt and even though she was always more responsible, reminding him of what they could and couldn’t do in public and such she felt as if his touch was irresistible and she couldn’t seem to stop herself from wanting it every time he was near.

He planted a soft kiss to her cheek and then went about dressing himself once the corset was tightened to her personal liking and she was off to put her dress and make-up on. He loved that she never felt the need to put on a whole face worth of make-up, because even though he knew there was nothing wrong with enjoying that on a woman he’d known her since before make-up was really all that popular and preferred how she looked as bare and powderless as possible. He’d always found her natural features to be perfect and desirable in every way that had ever counted, but he also truly loved when she highlighted the best parts of her beauty and left him to admire her for however long they would be surrounded by prying eyes. A part of him got a great joy out of watching her apply her make-up, as well, and he spent the evening waiting for the limo by laying across the bed on his side, head propped on his hand which was held up by his elbow, simply watching her with a small endearing smile on his face. He wasn’t sure if she even noticed until he caught her eyes in the mirror and his smile grew yet remained just the same as it was before. “You’re beautiful, you know that?” He commented, voice low so only she could hear. The blush returned in the blink of an eye and she responded only with a shy smile of her own before the limo was honking at them from the driveway, indicating that it was time for them to go.

**_Annual Rockefeller Ball_ **

Stefan had spent the entire week thinking about this night. He’d thought about the setting, and the dress, and the Champaign, and the dancing, and the music. He’d given all of it real, serious, in depth thought. Every detail down to the very moment he’d ask her to dance. He hadn’t really put that much time into these things when they were human, but they were frequent occurrences then. He didn’t have to worry about impressing her or making it special because they’d easily just attend another one in due time and he could make up for whatever horrible or unfair thing she felt happened at the last one. However, it had become a rarity somewhere along the lines as society moved closer and closer towards a free society and stopped holding such high standards of class. She rarely if ever got to go to a dance themed after their childhood. He knew she’d be able to find the perfect dress to match the occasion, and he knew she’d spend the entire day getting compliments and questions and people asking her who her seller was. Of course, she’d never tell them, because a part of her was still vein and wanted to keep that a secret, and he loved that about her possibly as much as he loved the dress itself on her.

He’d even contacted the DJ to make sure that he had the correct song on record so that he could come in, request his song, and just go about his lovely and unforgettable evening with the woman of his dreams. They had time to get drinks and enjoy some of the faster more up-beat songs that weren’t at all themed from the 1800s, though it was obviously difficult to get music with lyrics that you could also dance along to from out of the 19th century. Once their Campaign flutes were empty, he took hers with the offer to return with another fresh glass. But instead, he set the glasses on the nearest table and walked right up to the DJ. After a moment of discussion, and a solid $200 slid across the table as a bribe, the first few notes of the song started playing quietly over the dance floor. “May I have this dance, Mrs. Salvatore?” He asked when he approached her, one hand extended in invitation and the other spread towards the dance-floor to indicate his intentions. The smile on his face was so gentle and kind that it nearly swept her off her feet where she was standing. She quickly composed herself and smiled back, giving him a little curtsy and then reaching out to accept his outstretched hand.

_I found a love_

He spun her giggling form into his waiting arms as the first round of lyrics began to play.

_For me_

_Oh, darling just dive right in_

_And follow my lead_

His hand rested on her hip and the other held tight to her hand, and immediately they fell into a patterned rhythm of practiced waltzing across the dance floor that was scattered with various other couples that neither of them noticed, much less recognized.

_Well, I found a girl_

_Beautiful and sweet_

_Oh, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me_

_‘Cause we were just kids when we fell in love_

_Not knowing what it was_

_I will not give you up this time_

_But darlin’ just kiss me slow_

_Your heart is all I own_

_And in your eyes, you’re holding mine_

He spun her out and then twirled her under his arm until she returned to his embrace and they were back at it again.

_Baby, I’m dancing in the dark with you between my arms_

_Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite songs_

Stefan could feel the music flowing through him as if it were detailing their life story as they danced. The smile remained on his lips as their dancing faded into something slower, more intimate and less intricate. Getting carried away in the moment, he began quietly mumbling along to the song.

_When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath_

_But you heard it, darlin’ you look perfect tonight_

Scarlett felt her heart leap when she heard him singing along to the song. He wasn’t a particularly talented singer. He couldn’t find or hold a note to save his life, but hen he sang low and rumbling like that from his chest she melted like butter. He didn’t do it often, and only ever in her presence. But it was easily her favorite thing about him. When he sang, she lit up inside.

_Sei la mia donna_

_La forza delle onde del mare_

_Cogli i miei sogni e i miei segreti molto di più_

_Spero che un giorno, l'amore che ci ha accompagnato_

_Diventi casa, la mia famiglia, diventi noi_

_E siamo sempre bambini ma_

_Nulla è impossibile_

_Stavolta non ti lascerò_

_Mi baci piano ed io torno ad esistere_

_E nel tuo sguardo crescerò_

Stefan sang along in perfect Italian, not missing a beat or skipping a lyric or forgetting a line. His hands slipped easily around her waist to join at the crest of her lower back, and hers mirrored them around his neck. Her face was soon pressed into the nape of his neck, a small but pleasant smile playing at her lips and a content sigh escaping her lungs.

_Ballo con te, nell'oscurità_

_Stretti forte e poi, a piedi nudi noi_

_Dentro la nostra musica_

_Ti ho guardato ridere e sussurando ho detto:_

_"Tu stasera, vedi, sei perfetta per me”_

A break in the lyrics gave Stefan the opportunity to press the cold tip of his nose against the nape of her neck, eliciting a soft squeal and then a swat from her before he chuckled and buried his face in her hair to finish the song.

_Ballo con te, nell'oscurità_

_Stretti forte e poi, a piedi nudi noi_

_Dentro la nostra musica_

_Ho creduto sempre in noi_

_Perché sei un angelo e io ti ho aspettato_

_Quanto ti ho aspettato_

_Perché tu stasera sei perfetta per me_

The room was silent. It was silent, and empty, and they were standing in the middle of an open ballroom swaying to the fading chords of their song, a singular force among the masses all their own. They didn’t need anyone or anything but each other in this moment, and that was enough. That was everything. That was them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \---Translations---
> 
> First verse in Italian: 
> 
>  
> 
> You're my woman  
> The strength of the waves of the sea  
> Seize my dreams and my secrets a lot more  
> I hope one day, the love that accompanied us  
> Become a home, my family, become us  
> And we are always children but  
> Nothing is impossible  
> This time I will not leave you  
> You kiss me slowly and I come back to exist  
> And in your look I will grow up
> 
> Second and third verses in Italian: 
> 
> Dance with you, in the darkness  
> Tight strong and then, barefoot us  
> Inside our music  
> I looked at you laughing and whispering I said:  
> "You tonight, you see, you're perfect for me"


	4. Plans part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlett finally comes to him just after the break of dawn, sobbing and soaking and covered in bruises. He decides this is it. He doesn't want to wait for his 18th birthday anymore, he's getting her out of that house if it's the last thing he manages to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may or may not have noticed that the format of my other three chapters changed a little on my FF account, someone pointed out an error in how I was writing my paragraphs and I realized that right before I hit a bad bout of writers block, I didn't write in such large blocky chunks like that so I just quickly fixed it up so that it's a little more correctly formatted. Hope it reads better! -Sudden edit- You'll also notice that the date changed in my last chapter that it's set in. For those who don't follow me on FF, the date is now 2162 in the third chapter. I can't change it on my chapters in AO3, so I have to include that info here. I realized my math was WAY off because I can't do math without a calculator and had to fix that before it caused anything confusing. 
> 
> Bernadette, or "Aunt Bernie" is mentioned in this fic and many of you won't know who she is, but she's just an OC that was created who's a maid in the household and has "shipped" Starlett since they were little tykes. She's the super supportive mother servant and she pretty much raised Stef after his mom died. You can find her OC sheet by going to the forum in my profile, you don't have to join to take a look at the info found there!
> 
> Also, I'm warning you now; The rating has changed to T for mild descriptions of violence. The next chapter might be bumping it up to M. 
> 
> Also, a link to Scarlett's dress in the last chapter will be posted on my profile sometime either before or after I post this chapter, so make sure you check for that!
> 
> I think that's it for the updates. Don't forget to leave a review telling me what you think! And once again for those of you who might be interested; this pairing did originate on an RP. You're more than welcome to take a gander at my profile for more details! Follow the forum to get regular updates on Starlett, or you can join and interact with them yourselves!
> 
> Plot info: This chapter doesn't really mention the year because it's a pre-vampire chapter. It's set in 1864, a few months after they get together and just days before Stefan is shot by his father, after which point he turns and goes on to turn Scarlett.

**~STARLETT~**

Stefan was laying in his bed, one arm hanging over the edge and rubbing his fingers into the wood frame surrounding the mattress as he listened to the rain pour down the balcony doors. He watched the drops of water trickle down the textured glass. He’d spent all day thinking about her. He couldn’t get the thoughts to leave him alone, and that was the scariest part of all. It wasn’t as if she’d never gone a day without speaking to him. There had been one point when he was 12 and she was 13 that they’d agreed to a challenge and had spent days miserably alone doing nothing but sitting at home and avoiding each other until it grew too much.

But this wasn’t like that at all. And, of course, she had gone to visit family out of town for two months, but that certainly wasn’t anything like this, either. She never disappeared on him without warning. She’d never just suddenly stopped talking to him or coming to see him, and she almost never spent an entire day in her house. Especially at night; she would always sneak out and come to sleep in his bed. The past few months more than ever, since he’d broken down and spilled his guts one night after they snuck into Guiseppe’s liquor stash and drank half a bottle of Bourbon each. He couldn’t really explain how it happened. They’d been talking, and he’d just sort of…. said it. And she’d said it back. And the next thing he knew, they were kissing. From then on, she would show up to his room every night and they would either sneak out and spend the night exploring their home town until the sun came up and they had to part ways reluctantly, or they would lay in bed for hours just talking and holding each other and often sharing passionate kisses.

But now, it was nearly sunrise and she still hadn’t come. He’d stayed up all night waiting. He knew there could be any number of explanations. She could have decided she needed some space, which was fine with him. Or she could have just been busy all day and fallen asleep before she could wait for her father to be in bed, so she could leave. But she hadn’t shown up at the boarding house all day long, and now she wasn’t even coming to visit him while everyone was asleep. The only time they could ever truly be alone. Most of all, he feared that Eric had caught her sneaking back in the morning before and done something horrible. As he allowed the thoughts to run loose again, his heart rate sped up and he felt his breathing spike.

She had been the most important person in his life since he was just a baby. They were inseparable from the day they met. She was everything to him, in every way. She was his rock and kept him sane when his own father was getting violent. She was the one person he would go to any lengths to protect without question. She had been the love of his life since before he could even remember.

Stefan was shaken out of his thoughts when the faint form of a frail, small figure suddenly obstructed his view of the yard outside his balcony window. Stefan’s head shot up off the pillow, and in a moment flat he’d gotten himself up off the bed and sprinted the few feet between him and the doors. Every fiber of his being hoped it was her. Normally she simply walked into his room through the doors since they were never locked. He always wanted her around, he saw no reason to lock the doors because she could just come into his room and he didn’t have to worry about getting out of bed if he didn’t have to. But the rain was coming down rather heavily, and if for some reason she had suddenly chosen not to walk in, he didn’t want her to be stuck out in the rain.

The door clicked open only moments after his feet had touched the ground and his look of shock morphed into one of absolute relief when he saw that it was her. That didn’t last long. Just as quickly as he took in her identity, he also noticed her violently shaking frame and the sobs that were wracking her body with more force than he’d ever seen before. It was as if she was struggling to even stand with how hard she was crying. All the relief he previously felt vanished, and an odd and unexplainable combination of white hot rage and absolute dread washed over him in her honor. “Oh my God, Scar…” The first thing about her that caught his eye was the rapidly darkening purple bruise covering her left bicep, which she was trying and failing to cover with her right hand. The second thing was the fact that she wasn’t wearing anything besides her sleeping gowns, no jacket or even shoes. His hands wrapped tenderly around her elbows and he pulled her slight frame into his embrace, slowly walking them backwards towards the door.

Once he had her inside, he closed the door behind them and lead her to the closet. “You need to change out of those, so I can get you warmed up.” He searched through his wardrobe for an old shirt and pants set that he had from when he was a few years younger. They were the only things that would likely fit her that he owned. She wasn’t talking, and that was unusual for her. Scarlett had the ability to talk for hours without any prompting or encouragement from him. And he’d always been so content to just listen to her go on and on. But now, her teeth were chattering so hard he wasn’t sure she could talk even if she wanted to.

She accepted the clothes without a word and he turned on the light in his closet. When she stepped inside, he was closing the door behind her when he heard her force out a swift “No!” as her hand shot forward to stop him, gripping the door so tight her knuckles turned white. Her eyes were cast down, either in fear or shame or both, and she was breathing heavier than she had been before. “Please don’t…” He wasn’t sure what it was she didn’t want him to do, but he suspected it had something to do with being alone or closed in. His jaw visibly clenched, but he nodded anyway.

He quickly made his way over to the fireplace where Bernadette often left a pan full of coal in case he got too cold and needed to heat the blankets in the middle of the night while she was asleep. He’d never been so grateful for her over prepared habits before in his life. He set the pan beneath the blankets at the foot of the bed and straightened them out, so they were ready for when she was decent and ready to curl up and maybe try to get some sleep. He heard the door creak slightly and turned to find her stammering her way out of the closet. The sleeves of his oversized shirt were bunched tight in her fists and she still wasn’t looking at him. He didn’t want to ask her what happened because he was sure the details wouldn’t be anything he hadn’t heard a million and one times over. But he couldn’t just leave it without at least making sure there wasn’t more damage than was visible to him now. “Are you okay…?” He asked hesitantly.

She bit her lip hard, the whole bottom orb completely engulfed behind her front teeth and her breathing stuttered as she shook her head. It didn’t take more than a moment’s thought before Stefan was taking long strides across the room and wrapping her in a tight embrace. After a minute or two of just letting her cry against him, he lifted her into his arms and carried her over to the bed. She made quick work of grabbing the covers as they got to the bed and lifting them, so it would be easier for him to set her in the bed. A chill went through her spine as she curled up beneath the warm blankets and felt the muscle spasms from the cold finally starting to relax. Stefan made his way to the other side of the bed and slid beneath the covers. His arms were back around her in seconds and she was pressed tight to the center of his chest, his nose buried in the crown of her hair. She breathed a shaky sigh and he could still feel the tears escaping and slipping down his bare arms and chest.

He knew she likely just wanted to lay here with him and recuperate from whatever day she must have had but a part of him had these burning questions about how she got that bruise and whether she had more. Another part of him didn’t care, because he was prepared to rip the man’s jugular out with a rusty spoon anyway. And if she told him what had happened, Stefan was afraid that he might follow through and kill the man. He’d wanted to since he was a child and that was before they’d gotten together. To be fair he didn’t somehow love her less before because they weren’t together, things were just very different now that he didn’t have to worry about her finding out that he was secretly pining after his best friend because now he knew she wanted him as well. So now the rage was even worse. Because she deserved everything good in the world but instead she chose him, and the man who should be there to protect her and make sure she wasn’t making some stupid mistake being with a boy who broke the rules often, he was beating her and sending her off to go find comfort somewhere other than home. The one place that should feel the safest.

He could hear her breathing slowing the longer she lay in the warmth and comfort, instead of out in the cold with no one to take care of her. “He knows…” The whimper came so unexpectedly from her that he wasn’t sure he even heard her correctly. He took a moment to digest her words, eyebrows furrowed low over his green eyes. What did that mean for them…?

“How?” he asked. His heart was beating faster than ever. He wasn’t walking away from her, no matter what any one of them said. Even if they had to change their plans and run away sooner. He wasn’t going to let something as unimportant as whatever their parents had planned for their individual futures get in the way of what he had. He just didn’t know if that meant he would have to fight his way out or not. Would his father leave him alone and let him sneak out, or would he do as Stefan suspected and have him monitored at all hours of the day and night? Guiseppe trusted him enough, if Stefan claimed Eric was lying when confronted he could buy himself some time. But he didn’t know how well that would go, because Guiseppe trusted Eric more than his entire family. He’d be surprised if it didn’t turn out they’d secretly been carrying on a love life of their own behind the backs of their wives.

“He caught me.” She said, a sniffling a little and moving herself closer. She wrapped the arm not beneath her around his waist and buried her face in the crook of his neck. “When I went home yesterday, the maid had gone in early to wake him up for a meeting with some of the council. He came to check on me and I wasn’t there. He was waiting for me when I climbed in my window.”

Stefan felt his jaw clenching so tight his back teeth began to ache. He knew what would likely happen if Eric caught her sneaking around behind his back. He would go insane. Stefan felt somewhat responsible for what she had gone through over the course of the day. If it weren’t for him she would have been home. She wouldn’t have come to him sobbing and shaking and practically freezing to death. She wouldn’t be covered in God only knew how many bruises. He likely would have drawn blood, and if he hadn’t already he certainly would later. He could picture the inside of her house, covered in glass from the dishes and decorations he’d likely tossed about the house in his rage. He knew she would have been the one he forced to clean the mess up behind him. All the while, he would have called her various names. She wouldn’t have been allowed to stand on her two feet until every piece of glass was picked up off the floor and dispensed of in a bucket. He could imagine he’d be picking little shards of glass out of her finger tips and the pads of her toes for weeks. Bernadette would want to treat them, but there was little chance she’d let anyone besides him close enough to touch her for days, maybe even weeks. He couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten in enough trouble to come to him this broken up. The shame welled inside him and he couldn’t bear the thought of getting her in trouble again.

“You shouldn’t have come here.” His voice cracked as he spoke, but he couldn’t hold the emotion he felt in any longer. “He could kill you, Scarlett. He wouldn’t think twice, especially if he knew you were with me again.”

“I can’t go back!” Scarlett replied, her voice shaking and her hand curling into a fist against his back. She almost seemed as if she were trying to pull away from him when he felt her curling in on herself. He sucked in a panicked breath and tightened his arms around her waist, pulling her back to him and keeping her there in the hopes that it would comfort her.

“Okay, okay, okay. It’s okay, I’ll…. I can… we’ll talk to Aunt Bernie. She can help us, we can get out of here. We’ll leave in the middle of the night, in a few days after everything has blown over and everyone thinks you took off. We just can’t tell my dad you’re here, because he’ll give you up without a second’s thought. He thinks the sun shines out of Eric’s rear end. He can do no harm in the eyes of Guiseppe Salvatore.”

Scarlett simply nodded, but it took her another few minutes before she could calm down and go back to relaxing against him. “How will we keep him from finding me?” She asked after a long break in the conversation. She didn’t like the idea of him getting in trouble for hiding her here without permission, but she couldn’t go back to that place and he was right. Guiseppe wouldn’t hesitate to put her in a carriage and send her right back home to her father. And then she’d be dead. There’d be nothing left of her for them to bury.

“Aunt Bernie wouldn’t hesitate if we told her you couldn’t go back.” He said with absolute certainty. “She’s told me a hundred and one times that I should just hide you out here and not make you go home, but I was always afraid that would just be worse. Now though…. Now there’s no way I’m letting you go back to that house alone.”

She didn’t want to go back there at all, but she would likely want a few of her things before they actually left. She was going to need clothes and something to keep her warm at night, not that Stefan wasn’t perfectly good for that. But they would still need blankets. And she’d likely steal some food. They wouldn’t have much variety and Bernie would probably send them off with enough food to last them a few weeks at least. But she’d still take something that her father wouldn’t notice, so it would be like she’d just disappeared. “When will we leave?”

“Three days.” Stefan replied, his hands stroking gently over the tops of her arms. He could feel her stiff muscles loosening within his grip a little more every minute, and he was glad she was finally coming down from the panic that comes along with the fight or flight instinct she’d likely been battling with since she got home the morning before. The thing he hated about Eric Grayson more than anyone else was how he could make her feel panicked and anxious, how he could make her think that everyone around her was waiting in the reins to screw her over or hurt her. He made her feel alone and surrounded by people only looking to use her. And while he knew that wasn’t the case because the last thing he would ever do was use her, but he couldn’t help feeling guilty anyway whenever she was trying to distance herself from him for fear that he would sell her out to her father. He wanted to pull the man apart one nerve ending at a time and force him to experience every ounce of pain that would require. He wanted the bastard to know what it was like to live in his daughter’s shoes for just a moment, to feel the helplessness and the insecurity and the fear he saw in her eyes every time he looked into them. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, it was always there, and he wished he could take it all away and only let her feel happiness and love for just one day. He knew, however, that this was not possible. So, he would have to settle for showing her every day for the rest of their lives just how important she was to him. If he could make that enough, if he could give her the world and then some, then he believed his job would be done as much as it could be.

**_The next day_ **

Stefan had been called away to help Bernadette in the gardens. Of course, it had been a clever disguise, to allow them time to scheme over what they would do about Scarlett. He’d left her alone in his room, so she could get some sleep. He knew she needed it more than anything, and he wanted her to be well rested over the next few days so she wouldn’t be fatigued or feeling weak when they left. He wanted her to have as much energy as she could because they would need to make as much headway on their journey as was physically possible in the first day. Once they were a decent distance from anyone who could cause them problems they could slow down and go at a more comfortable pace, stopping more and eating when they could. But the first day was essential in making sure they had enough time to do that.

“Where will you go?” Bernie asked him, her serious voice thick with worry and fear for them both. Stefan replied with a shallow shrug, his lack of sleep painfully clear in the circles under his eyes and the sagged way he stood. “Anywhere but here. Anywhere her father can’t find her.”  

Bernie let out a frustrated sigh and put her hands on her hips. “Stefan Salvatore, you know you need to have a better plan than you’ve got. That girl is counting on you to protect her, to get her somewhere you both know she’ll be safe. You don’t know how far he’s willing to go to get to her. You don’t know whether he’ll send someone to follow you and track where you go. You need a plan, you need somewhere to stop so you can cover your tracks. You need to be prepared, boy. Just walking away and expecting that to be the answer is not going to help you, it’s going to make this twice as hard on you than it should be.”

Stefan’s jaw clenched. He didn’t want to have to plan more than he already had because he just wanted to leave. But he knew she was right. He needed to have a place they could go temporarily so they could get rest and shrug any trackers off before they started moving again. He didn’t know of anyone who would help them, but maybe some of their friends had resources.

“There’s a man a few cities over. We’ve exchanged letters, I’ve met him a few times when he was passing through. We’re close friends, and he’s a good man. If you give me a few days, I can get a letter to him and ask him to house you until you can comfortably move on. He lives in a secluded area that not many people know of, and he could come to town for business and sneak you back with him. It would be simple, easy. You wouldn’t have to travel alone without assistance.”

Stefan bit his lip as he thought seriously about what she said. She was right. They would need all the help they could get, especially if they were going to disappear and remain unfound. He knew his father would do anything to get what he wanted, and Stefan was his pride and joy. He wanted Stefan to take on the life he’d led, and his father had led. But Stefan didn’t want that life, and Guiseppe still insisted he take over the family business or join the war. Without Stefan, he’d have to hand the business to Damon and everyone in town knew how much of a disgrace he considered his eldest son. Damon was not the person Guiseppe hoped to hand his life’s work down to. “How fast can he get here?” Stefan asked, running his fingers over a leaf he’d been staring at for longer than necessary. “4 days, maximum. I promise you, he’s a very good man and would be more than happy to house and feed you until you could make your own way.”

Stefan simply nodded in response and turned around to go back inside. He didn’t want to leave her alone too long, there was too high a risk that his father would find her and send her home. These fears were only confirmed when Stefan got back to the house and walked in to see his father, hands behind his back and a stern expression on his face. “Letting girls sleep in your bed against my wishes, I see.” Stefan swallowed down the lump in his throat and his eyes darted to the hallway, through which was his bedroom. “She’s not here, I sent her home.” All of the color drained out of Stefan’s face. And without saying a word, his feet carried him back over the threshold and down the stairs. He could hear his father yelling after him about responsibilities, and marriage, and rules but Stefan could care less how his father felt anymore.

Chest heaving, elbows tight at his sides and arms swinging rhythmically back and forth, feet hitting the ground with force and purpose and sending shock waves of rage through every inch of his body. The sweat was collecting on his forehead and he could feel the air pumping through his lungs in a short groan with every step he took. He didn’t have to think it through at all, no rational consideration went into the choice he made the moment those words came out of his father’s mouth. He was too focused on getting to Scarlett’s house and doing anything and everything he could to stop whatever it was Eric would likely be doing right this second.

His feet carried him along and before he even realized that he’d run that far, he was running right up to Scarlett’s back door. He could hear Eric yelling at the end of the driveway, but now that he was right outside the house it was so loud that it was making Stefan’s stomach churn. He couldn’t hear Scarlett, and he didn’t know if he considered that a good thing or a bad thing. If she wasn’t screaming, that could mean he hadn’t gotten to the physical part of the anger yet. But if he had already hurt her so bad she couldn’t talk and was now just yelling for the sake of being loud…. Well he wouldn’t put that past the man to be completely honest.

 He ducked down and listened closely. When he still couldn’t hear the sounds of Scarlett inside the house, he quickly opened the back door and slid into the kitchen. Neither of them was in the kitchen, but Marie could be seen sitting at the table with her back to him. She didn’t seem to have noticed his presence, though to be fair she didn’t often notice most things around her. The woman was a drunk, and the whole town gossiped about it left and right. Never once considering that it could be her own husband who pushed her to such unhealthy behaviors.

He heard a whimper come from the living room, and then Eric once again. “ _Don’t you dare make a sound! I don’t want to hear you speak again after this. You’re to be seen and not heard!_ ” Scarlett sobbed once again, and Stefan could hear the sound of skin striking skin as Eric had likely slapped her across the face. Stefan was on his feet and grabbing the cast iron pan off the stove without a second thought. It was instinct. To grab the first thing big enough to do real damage near him and waltz passed Scarlett’s drunk mother into the living room. He heard her snort in mild amusement at his heroics, but it wasn’t hard to ignore. She’d done the same thing to Scarlett for her daughter’s entire life. Why should he treat her any different? “ _Don’t you dare look ne in the eye! You should know your place by now!”_ He could hear the yelling grow louder as he walked into the room. She spotted him before he reached them, and the panic in her eyes was so familiar now that it made him want to vomit. Her chin quivered but she was quick to cast her eyes back down when her father’s hand lifted above her head once more. Before the next inevitable threat could pass the man’s lips, Stefan acted. The frying pan made a loud gong sound when it struck the side of Eric’s skull, and Stefan watched his body drop limply to the ground with a blank expression.

The scream that Scarlett let out hadn’t escaped his notice, but he didn’t have time to waste. That blow wasn’t enough to kill Eric, and he certainly wasn’t weak enough to have passed out. Stefan was neither that strong nor that skilled in the art of combat. The pan dropped from his hand only moments after Eric hit the ground with a withered groan, and he leapt over him and grabbed her arm. “We’re getting out of here!” He announced loudly, pulling his crying girlfriend from the room as she stumbled and gasped for air behind him. “Wait! Stefan I can’t leave, he’ll just come find me and then it’ll be worse, and then-“ She was cut off when he all but shouted no. He felt her flinch away from him and a high pitched startled sound left her throat and had to take a deep breath to calm himself, though he couldn’t stop pulling her along because Eric was already starting to recover from the disorienting blow and beginning to sit up.

“We can’t stay here. I have a plan, we can get out and we never have to see him again, but you have to come with me!” He was all but begging now. “He can’t hurt you, not while I’m around, but you can’t let him convince you that he’s all powerful or capable of finding you wherever you go because he’s not! He doesn’t have enough money to spend searching the entire world. He’ll give up before you even get far enough away to escape because he’s _weak_ , Scarlett. He’s weak and afraid and cowardly and he doesn’t really care enough to try.” He could still hear her sobbing, but her resistance was fading by the second. He knew how badly she wanted to leave. Had known since they were young. So young. And he knew how terrified she was of retaliation, but so long as she stuck with him and let him keep her safe she wouldn’t have to face her father again for the rest of her life. They could run away and be happy.

He had dragged her out of the house and down the street already, and they were quickly making their way towards his house. “Why are we going back there? Your father will just send me home again!” He finally turned back to really look at her. He could see the bruise forming on her face where Eric had slapped her, along with a number of concerning bruises shadowing the rest of her body. His stomach lurched, and he clenched his jaw tight in response.

“This time, he won’t find out you’re here. We’re leaving in 4 days, but he’s not going to know either of us is around. We’re going to sneak into one of the guest rooms and hide out there. He won’t even suspect it, he never checks the rooms unless there are guests in them. He just leaves that to the maids.” He would have to talk to Bernie and make sure she could bring them food and water regularly and help keep people away from the room. But it would serve them well until they could collect enough stuff to begin their travels right. He knew there had to be some old clothes of his mother’s that were just lying around the house untouched, his father had never really dealt with her death. He’d just left it to be cleaned out by the maids and moved on. That would serve as a good replacement for the clothes she’d be leaving behind, and many of them would likely keep her warm at night if they had nowhere to sleep in doors. “Aunt Bernie knows a man who comes to town frequently enough on business to justify giving us a ride out of here. He’s going to give us a place to stay off the grid until we can safely leave and avoid your father without him catching onto our trail.”

They reached the back entrance of Stefan’s house and walked swiftly around to the side with no doors and only windows on the second and 3rd floors. Stefan made quick work of climbing the nearest tree and then reaching down to help Scarlett climb up behind him. He had the window to the guest room open and was steadily helping her inside before long. “And you’re sure he’ll help us…? I don’t know how well I trust a stranger, Stefan…”

“He’s not a stranger if aunt Bernie trusts him. You now how picky she is about that.” He closed the window behind him and stepped closer slowly, taking both her hands in his and letting out a heavy sigh as he finally took her in a little at a time. “He can keep us safe until we get on our feet. We won’t even have to try to sneak out in the middle of the night to avoid being seen, we could just wait in his carriage until he’s ready to return home. It would be so convenient.” He pressed his forehead to hers gently, afraid of agitating some unseen injury with any sudden movements. His hand reached up and cupped her cheek, thumb gently caressing the split in her bottom lip. “We could be free. Finally.”

Her chin quivered again, but it seemed as if she’d already cried every tear she had left. She let out a heavy, almost relieved sigh and then nodded. The only real response she could give as his arms wound around her waist and he kissed her cheek in an attempt to lift her spirits. “Okay.”  She replied and accepted that this was just how things had to be until they were both safe. She knew Guiseppe wasn’t as bad as her own father, but he was still no real father. She didn’t want Stefan subject to any form of abuse anymore than he wanted her to be. But now there was hope. They would get out. They would find some way to move on, and to free themselves of the demons from their past, and they would be happy together somewhere else. She could feel the little glimmer of something beautiful finally starting to blossom. She wanted to cherish it, to never let its light go out. She realized only now that it had always been there. And that it had come along with Stefan’s presence in her life. She was just glad he seemed to feel the same for her. They needed each other. They would always need each other. No matter what.

Neither of them even noticed the pair of chocolate brown eyes or the Cheshire grin that were watching and listening from the small crack in the door leading to the hallway. Katherine pushed herself away from the wall and sauntered on back to her room. What a beautiful opportunity to make Stefan hers forever….

**_To be continued_ **


	5. Karaoke Bars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexi and Scarlett manage to drag Stefan and Lexi's new boyfriend Ben with them to a karaoke bar and madness ensues. Hold on to your hats, cause this one gets a little racy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m changing the rating to M because this chapter has graphic sexual content not appropriate for those under the age of legal consent.   
> I just need to take a moment to express just how blown away by how much feedback this story has gotten. I can’t express how hard it’s been to feel confident in my own writing over the last few years, the first chapter of this that I posted was the first time I was able to sit and write more than a couple sentences in 3 actual years. And knowing that so many of you not only read it but love it as much as you’ve shown me you do just really gives me hope and makes me feel so so proud of myself like I never have before. I feel good about what I’m writing for the first time in what feels like forever. And I have all of you to thank for that. So, from the bottom of my heart – thank you. All of you.  
> Yes, yes, I know! You’re all waiting for part 2 of Plans. Patience, it’s in progress! I just needed to get this plot bunny out of the way and figured it would be a good way to torture my lovely followers a little bit with the anticipation of what Katherine has planned 

**~STARLETT~**

“Why a Karaoke Bar?” Stefan asked as he sipped his drink and looked around the room at all the people dressed in revealing clothes and wearing too much cologne. He felt as though he would burst into flames with how many flammable scent altering substances were floating around this room. His nose wrinkled periodically every time he caught a whiff of one that was particularly horrible and over worn.

“It’s a small town. We either get this, or bull riding and bad liquor.” Lexi replied as Scarlett leaned both elbows on the bar top and watched him, amusement shining in her eyes because even though he’d grown up in a small town he’d always preferred big cities and lots of noise outside his window to the subtle, quiet atmospheres of places like this. The bars weren’t crowded enough to drown out his brooding and there wasn’t good enough quality alcohol for him to get drunk enough to enjoy it. But tonight, they’d decided, fuck it. They weren’t going to be here long, might as well make a scene and leave a mark. It’s like Lexi says; “If they don’t know you, make sure they have something to remember you by anyway.” Scarlett really loved having another girl around to help her keep Stefan in line. He could be a handful when drunk. Not that she was complaining, he was still sweet and only ever had eyes for her. Just in a much more obnoxious and hands-y kind of way. And public places were his favorite places to start trying to convince her to undress. Not that he ever succeeded. You’d think almost 200 years into their relationship would see his attempts and advances while drunk getting more and more subtle, but he didn’t seem to have any concept of subtle when under the influence.

She would complain and groan and whine and beg him to leave her alone in the moment, but she would never tell him she secretly adored him when he was drunk. She loved knowing that even after all this time and everything they’d been through, he still couldn’t stop himself when drunk in her presence. He still wanted her enough to make stupid advances that they both knew wouldn’t get him anywhere. He was still attracted to her just as much as before they’d been turned, and that warmed a place in her heart that she didn’t often admit even existed. She felt a little bit self-empowered when she thought about it frankly. What girl out there could say the man she loved had loved her for 2 whole centuries and still tried to talk his way into her pants in the back room of bars in the middle of the night? Most people passed the 7-year mark and suddenly realized their husbands were more interested in women half their age. But she would never have to doubt how much he wanted her. It wasn’t humbling at all. It made her feel like a hot mess with a teenager for a husband, and as much as she complained she loved it. He made her feel young and giddy even though she was probably older than everyone in this room combined.

Stefan shrugged, puling her out of her reverie, and downed the last of his drink as swiftly as he could. “I guess that’s fair. This place has better alcohol, right?” He rose a brow and turned to catch her staring at him. She didn’t look away because neither of them felt the need to hide from that part of their relationship anymore. The soft yet mischievous grin and the suggestive wink he tossed her way made her blush despite herself, but she simply rolled her eyes and glanced at the mirror behind the bar which revealed a selection of half decent beer and slightly more decent hard liquor.

“Let’s hope so.” Lexi commented as she downed her third drink in the last 15 minutes and waved her hand at the bartender to grab his attention, so she could order another.  

Scarlett chuckled at her best friend’s comment and shrugged. “It doesn’t look like they make an effort to be cheap, but they probably don’t have many people who come from out of town. That’s keeping them from affording anything more expensive.” 

Stefan sighed and signaled for the waiting bartender to refill his drink. He was gonna need a few more mediocre drinks to get through this. But at least it was something to do while they were here. He’d much rather be doing something at home with Scarlett, where there were less people and they didn’t have to deal with crummy music from an amateur DJ. Or their mutual best friend drinking way more than she should [ _not that he had any room to talk_ ] and screaming along to every song that came on the speakers and wasn’t already being sung for a karaoke performance. But she wanted to go out dancing, and Lord help him when Scarlett Salvatore asks you to go out dancing you say yes. You always say yes, because to say no is to miss out on one of the most humbling yet electrifying experiences of your prolonged existence on this plane. Stefan made a pact with himself a very long time ago to never miss out on every opportunity he would ever have to make her feel like she was the axis on which his world revolved. And dancing with her made him want to fulfill that secret promise for a million and one more years to come. No matter the circumstances. “So, what’s the plan? How exactly are we supposed to ‘go out dancing’ at a karaoke bar?” He raised his glass in thanks at the bartender without sparing him more than a seconds’ glance before turning back to his wife and best friend huddled close and giggling over God knew what.

“They play actual music here, Stefy. Haven’t you ever been to one of these?” Scarlett knew he probably hadn’t. They didn’t often succeed in convincing him to join them on their endeavors to the karaoke bar, not that they went entirely that often. But he’d spent about half as much time in places like this as they had, and never under the guise of going out dancing. Lexi scoffed, because she knew exactly what he was going to say. Same old, boring Stuffy Stefan. Not that he couldn’t be plenty of fun once you got a few drinks in him and set him loose on the rest of the bar to wreak havoc.

“To be honest with you, babe, I try to avoid them.” He wasn’t lying. He knew she’d jumped at the opportunity to finally drag him to one of these. “I knew this day would come, though. Suppose I might as well get used to coming to these with you now, right?” He was playing at pessimism but the smile on his face told her he didn’t really mind, he only wanted to push her buttons and get under her skin like he always had.

“It’s really better that you accept it now.” Scarlett stuck the straw of her drink in her mouth and sipped it with that cute look she got when she was trying to butter him up. She may have thrown in a little sex appeal to bring the ball home. She held back a laugh as his eyes held hers all the while he was emptying his entire drink into is open waiting mouth and then setting the cup down bottoms-up as the amber liquid slid fire down his throat.

 “You’re gonna kill me one day, you know that?” He leaned in close to her face and narrowed his eyes, smirk set firmly in place and those rare dimples from his childhood making her un-beating heart feel as if it were doing summersaults in her chest. “It’s really best you just accept that now.” He said, clearly mocking her, before he planted a hard but short kiss to her lips, savoring the moment before Lexi chimed in with her complaints. It was almost like he could hear her clearing her throat before she even made a sound.

“Come on, can you at least wait to suck her face clean off until my man gets here? I’m so tired of being the lonely best friend, I need someone to have annoying drunk public make-out sessions with!” Lexi’s whining voice caused them both to laugh and pull away, returning to their respective seats and ordering yet another round as they waited for Lexi’s freshly turned boyfriend to arrive after some much-needed R&R.

**_2 hours and many drinks later…_ **

Stefan had lost count of the number of drinks he’d ordered. All he knew is that he was sitting here at the bar after dancing with Scarlett and Lexi and her boyfriend Ben for the last hour and a half as if they were teenagers, unprepared for the consequences of getting too handsy on the dance floor. One of the few places he was allowed to let his hands wander and feel her up in public was when they were dancing. Who was he to lie and say he didn’t absolutely take advantage of that opportunity every time it came up? And, to be fair, he’d had quite a few drinks already by that time and alcohol had that effect on him where it made him handsy and horny and just so so ready to drag her into that bathroom in the corner and forget that they were in a cruddy old karaoke bar that he hated for just a few minutes while they enjoyed the feeling of flesh on flesh in the most scandalous of ways.

But now instead of running his hands over her body and feeling her move and giggle and purr against him, he was staring at some dumb jock who was clearly way too young to think this through trying to flirt with his wife. Don’t be mistaken; he wasn’t jealous in the slightest. To be quite frank, he was fighting boisterous guffaws of laughter. He could see the friendly smile on her face and the little nod she did with guys who were trying to hit on her that she just wasn’t interested in. He didn’t blame the poor kid, either. Just look at her – if he wasn’t already married to her and hadn’t spent every night for the past two centuries taking her to bed and getting to know every way she showed how much she was enjoying what he did to her, well…he’d probably be right behind that kid trying to get in her pants. Not that he would know the first thing about getting in her pants without having known her since she wasn’t socially allowed to wear them.

“Doesn’t that ever get old?” Lexi asked him, tilting her head and watching Scarlett deflect and avoid the young boy’s almost-too-friendly attitude and attempts at making a pass. “I mean, you’re watching someone else flirt with your wife. You do it every time we go out. Why?”

It _was_ getting old, though. He wanted to distract her from this guy and swoop in like a majestic hero in all of her wildest fantasies and sweep her off her feet, effectively making that kid feel like he was 2 inches tall. What could he say. She was the love of his life, and by far the sexiest woman he’d ever laid eyes on. “It’s been old since the first time it happened.” It wouldn’t be hard to pretend as if they didn’t know each other and knock the guy down a few pegs, but she’d never go for it. “But I trust her. I may not trust him, but she wouldn’t let him walk away in one piece if he ever did anything to cross her boundaries.” She’d roll her eyes, let out a long-winded sigh, and tell him to get off his little high horse and go sit back down while she waits for their food. But he figured one day, he’d get drunk enough to actually do it. And she would probably tell him later when no one was looking that she loved when he was protective of her even though she could take care of herself. No one else in her life really had been; and it was nice to know that if she didn’t have her own back then he was right behind her ready to take over.

Lexi’s eyes wandered between him and Scarlett a few times before she shrugged, unfamiliar with the feeling of having such faith in a single person to not have any qualms about others trying to sneak them away for sexy times. “I swear, you two are worse than a fairy tale.” She smiled warmly despite her words and set a firm hand on his shoulder, before getting up out of her chair and stretching arms above her head. “Well, I think Ben and I are going to take off. It’s getting late and he likes to give me head while the sun comes up. It’s hot and romantic and it makes me feel like stars are shooting out of my toes, so I’ll see you tomorrow and tell that beauty of a wife you’ve got I love her to pieces.” Stefan laughed and shook his head at Lexi’s comment. He wasn’t surprised, only amused. Because that was so much something she would say after having way too many drinks.

“Yeah, I’ll tell her.” He said patting her hand on his shoulder as she leaned in to plant a wet sloppy kiss to his cheek. “Enjoy your exploding head, I’m gonna try to convince her to go home before midnight.” Lexi just winked and spun around to practically skip out of the bar with Ben at her side, grinning like an idiot the whole way. Yeah, that guy was pretty okay in Stefan’s book. He made Lexi happy, and he wasn’t rude or intrusive. He fit. It wasn’t hard to tell he worshipped the ground Lexi walked on, and he could certainly relate to him in that aspect.

When Scarlett finally managed to break free of her young admirer’s insistent chatter and walk back over to Stefan, he really did laugh. He laughed hard. Because the guy’s face had completely fallen from this cocky ‘top-of-the-world’ pride to absolute defeat when Stefan leaned in and planted one on her, tongue sliding in to get a little action for effect and his hand reaching in to pull her close in an almost predatory manor. He felt her hand connect sharply with his shoulder before he could even calm down enough to see the slap coming, but it didn’t affect his high. He knew she’d never have gone for the kid, but it was fun watching the realization dawn on said kid that he was far from her type.

“Stefan Salvatore, I’m going to chop you up into a million pieces and scatter your remains in the ocean!” Her brow was furrowed in annoyance, but he couldn’t care less. She was cute when she got mad at him, especially over stupid silly things like his need to one-up all the guys she turned down by proving how much better than them he was. He got the girl, and they got the sharp sting of rejection coated with the honey sweet burn of liquor. “Lexi told me to tell you she loves you to pieces and she’s gonna go get sunset head from the stars or… something.”

Scarlett rose a brow and decided she would have to ask Lexi about that before she was too sober to remember. Drunk Stefan had a habit of butchering and editing what he heard to something more acceptable to drunk Stefan. But drunk Lexi wasn’t exactly shy, either, so who knew. “I hope she enjoys her starhead.” She said with a snicker. She knew it was likely Ben she was getting head at sunset from, Stefan was just either too drunk to remember or too drunk to care.

Stefan finished off the drink he’d slowly been sipping while secretly making bedroom eyes at his wife while she deflected that kid’s advances and then signaled for the bartender once more. “Keep the drinks coming for the rest of the night.” He said with a friendly but cocky smirk. He cleared his throat when the guy nodded and started to walk away, and when he was closer Stefan made eye contact and used his powers of compulsion as he finished his request. “And start a tab in his name. Put all our drinks on it.” Scarlett gasped and whacked his arm with the back of her hand when the words came out of his mouth, but he couldn’t stop himself from laughing again anyway.

“You’re _un_ believable.” She said, shaking her head and doing her best to hide the little smile that wanted to peek out. She could admit to herself that part of the reason she’d always loved him is because he was young at heart, but she’d also say he was inconsiderate and obnoxious and acted way too much like a teenager. The two were not mutually exclusive.

“Aww, you love it!” He replied, still grinning ear to ear with silent laughter. He was leaning closer, and she was almost afraid he might tip the barstool over and fall flat on his face. That would be one hell of a sight, and she was sure that poor kid who was only trying to be friendly and flirt with a pretty girl would get a kick out of it. She just rolled her eyes and allowed him one quick peck on the lips before she pulled away.

“Mostly I just want you to quit while you’re ahead, so you don’t piss someone off for real and get yourself into a barfight. Do I need to limit your alcohol intake, Mr Salvatore?” She tilted her head, but her grin mirrored his and he could tell she didn’t really want to. He knew she secretly loved drunk Stefan. He was a little more fun, a little riskier, a little more of all his best traits. And maybe some of his not-so-best traits. But still the same, he could tell it made her feel good. “Or maybe we should just go home.”

Stefan’s entire form perked up a bit at that. He knew what that meant. Whenever Scarlett offered to go home in the middle of a bar after having a drink or two, it always meant making out in the back seat of their car until she got too bored of the whole thing and begged him to take her home and _really_ show her a good time.  “I don’t mind going home. We can go home. Let’s ditch this soda joint.” He was off his stool and cornering her against the bartop before she had a chance to speak up and she giggled with annoyance and delight all the same and then shook her head. “Only if you do something horrible and embarrassing first.” Now she had him. He could never turn down a challenge, and if it meant going home and fooling around all night he’d do absolutely anything. Especially when too intoxicated to properly think it through.

“Please don’t say Karaoke.” He mumbled, his grin shifting into a thick pout and his frame sagging to make himself look a little more pathetic. “I can’t even sing, I’ll look like an idiot!”

“You already look like an idiot, my love. No song you sing can do that for you. Come on, just one song and then we can go home.” She grinned and cupped his cheeks as she leaned a little closer. “I’ll even let you feel me up in the parking lot by the car.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him and gave him that dark little smile that made him want to rip all of her clothes off on the spot. He narrowed his eyes because he knew she knew he couldn’t say no to that. So instead of saying anything, he signaled the bartender and ordered 3 more shots. When they arrived, he downed each of them slowly for the drama and then cupped the back of her neck to kiss her, hot and hard and open mouthed, and then pushed himself away and walked over to the empty and waiting open mic at the front of the bar.

He was struggling to think of a song, but as soon as he turned back to look at her while the DJ waited for his answer, he just knew. He gave his answer and clambered his way drunkenly onto the stage. “I can’t really sing, so just…. bear with me.” He said with a chuckle as he grabbed the microphone. He wasn’t lying, either. He could play guitar any day of the week, but you hand him a microphone and the room run screaming. He cleared his throat and he let out a huff of a breath. “This is for my lovely wife. She’s right over there.” He pointed to the single bar member sitting at the actual bar as most of them were sitting at tables or in booths discussing. He saw Scarlett’s eyes go wide and she shook her head vigorously. “Practically begged me to do this. What’re you gonna do, right?”

 _“One look fro-at…you?”_ His voice came out higher pitched and more off-key than it needed to be, and Stefan couldn’t quite remember how the beginning went. The words on the tiny outdated screen above the bar were too small to make out properly. They blead together and the alcohol probably wasn’t helping him too much. _“And I’m on that faded love.”_ Scarlett shook her head and watched him, hands cupped over her mouth. He was right; he certainly looked like an idiot. Not only was he no good at singing, but he was too drunk to remember the words. _“Hmhm- body”_ It was clear he was trying desperately to remember the words and the tune was off by a few beats. She would laugh about this later, but right now she was beyond embarrassed.

He could feel the music starting to wash over him and set him in the mood to be a little more of something. Unsure if it was sentimental or obnoxious, he rolled with it and kept up the pace. _“And flying above. If there were anymore left of me, I’d give it to you.”_ He was starting to find a bit of rhythm, but his timing, tune, and tone were all off. At least he was in the same ballpark. He got through the next few lines fairly smoothly, but when it came to the pre-chorus verse he lost his cool and started forgetting words left and right.

 _“Get out alive-_ or ummmm _how many times can you-_ no.” He paused and squinted at the screen, but it was no help at all. _“Maybe sneak me a waistband?”_ The audience was in full-blown laughter mode. Stefan was making an absolute fool of himself, and Scarlett was absolutely horrified. This was a terrible idea. She should have known this would be a classic Stefan move. Point her out in a crowd so they all knew who he was associated with in the bar, and then blame all of the embarrassment to follow on her. Classic Stefan Salvatore. _“Would you give me, give me, give me, give me, give me, give…._ A boot? Why’s he have- whatever. _Cause everything else is a substitute for your love! Give me a boost over heaven’s gate”_ People were clapping and cheering. This was obviously the best comedy show they’d seen in a while, and he wasn’t even trying to be funny. _“I’ve got dreams of my own, but I wanna make yours come true so please come through-ough-_ What does that say?”

He seemed to simply give up on following the automated words on the screen and shrugged. He probably knew the words well enough sober, how would drunk be that much different? _“You’re the one rabbit I just can’t kick, you’re the one rabbit I just can’t kick, you’re the one rabbit I just can’t-_ Wait hold up. Why are we kicking rabbits? Since when is that part of the song?” Everyone was cheering him on and he laughed a little with him because he suddenly realized how utterly ridiculous he looked up here on stage drunkenly slurring the wrong lyrics of a cheesy love song to his wife. _“You’re the one, you’re the one, you’re the one, you’re the one, you’re the one, you’re the one, you’re the one, you’re the one, you’re the one, you’re the one, you’re-_ When do I stop? _You’re the one, you’re the one, you’re the one.”_ Stefan paused his singing and stared at the screen. It played a couple more blurry bars of lyrics before it shut off and he shrugs. “Guess you’re just the one, baby.” He set the mic back in place on the stand and waved his awkward goodbye as he stumbled his way back down the stairs of the stage and around the crowd of tables and booths. He definitely wouldn’t be coming back here anytime in the next hundred years. “Can we go home now?” He asked as he approached her giggling form.

“’ If they don’t know you, make sure they have something to remember you by anyway.’ Right?” She grinned and watched the emotions dance across his face as he went from annoyed to pouty in just a few seconds. “Okay okay fine, we can go home.” Scarlett rolled her eyes and grabbed her purse and headed for the door. Stefan followed behind with a triumphant grin, hands on her waist as if he didn’t want to lose track of her in the crowd. Not that there was much of a crowd to begin with.

All the while they walked to the car he held himself back, limiting himself to flirty glances and mentally taking in the shape of her curves in the tight skinny jeans and flow-y button down combo. She didn’t really dress up much for these events, not even all that much make-up but she certainly caught his eye. With her hair mussed up and a little wild from dancing and her eyes alight with the constant buzz of the supernatural coursing through her veins, he simply couldn’t keep his hands to himself much longer. Said hands had migrated away from her hips, but their fingers were further entwined, and she was leaning somewhat into his side. But by the time they’d finally reached the car, he’d used the advantage of holding her hand to spin her around and corner her against the side of the car.

 He leaned in so close their noses were touching and pressed every inch of his body against every inch of hers, effectively trapping her where she was and leaving no room for protest. Not that she had any intention of protesting his advances; she wouldn’t admit this out loud, but she’d been looking forward to this just as much as he had. “You looked really hot tonight, Mrs. Salvatore.” He said, running the tip of his nose gently along the side of hers.

The grin that stretched across her face held just a touch of light teasing and suspicion. He could see her loosening up and giving in to him when she reached up and draped her arms around his neck, letting them fall lazily against his shoulders and sliding familiar hands into the hair on the back of his head. “You haven’t even seen the half of it, sugar.” The tone and pitch in her voice both dipped and softened as she bit down on her bottom lip.

Stefan’s eyes darkened a few shades and a hungry kind of sound escaped his chest. He could have sworn he’d spotted a glimpse of something a little more red and lacy than her usual underwear choice, but he couldn’t quite decide if it was the alcohol and the lighting playing tricks on his perception. On instinct his hand was on her leg, pulling it up and around his hip and sliding own the length of her thigh. His hand slid around to the apex of her ass and pulled her against him hard as his hips rolled forward, and when her mouth fell open in a pleasantly shocked high-pitched moan he lunged forward and swallowed the sound whole along with the plump bottom lip that had previously been stuck between her teeth.

Her hands clenched in his hair and she all but whined a wordless plea for mercy into his waiting mouth. His hips were relentless against her and she could feel the electricity building before she had a chance to properly process how she even wanted to respond. When he finally pulled away to occupy himself with drawing lazy kisses down her neck, she tried but failed to get him to back up just a little. “Stefan, I agreed to groping I did _not_ say you could dry fuck me against the car on the side of the street!”

“Mm, I love when you talk dirty.” He commented back, but his hips slowed their slightly rushed pace anyway and he littered a few more shallower kisses across her neck. “But what if I wanted to _“dry fuck you”_ against the car on the side of the street?” His hand tightened where it rested on her thigh and he thrust his hips a little harder against hers.

She sucked in a little gasp and then giggled, pushing him off her with more success now that he wasn’t practically wrapped around her. “No! Save it for later, I wanna go home.” She pulled out the puppy eyes and tilted her head, so he had no choice but to look at her. “I have a surprise for you, don’t tell me you want to wait _longer_ to find out what it is.”

He stuck his bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout and let out a long sigh, but he nodded anyway. His hand squeezed her thigh one more time before he reluctantly pulled away, hands and fingers lingering on some part of her as he stepped back and opened the door to let her get in the car. The alcohol had almost worn off by now, the fresh air and adrenaline of having her so close and so hot against him drowning it out in his lightning fast metabolism. But it really was true that a day would never come on which he’d had enough of that woman.


	6. Plans part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of Plans part one in which Starlett has decided to leave town with the help of Bernadette, the motherly house maid who has seen them through their hardest of days. Unbeknownst to them, a secret monster is hiding in the shadows waiting for her chance to strike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The long awaited second installment of the Plans series. Hope this one is accepted as well as the others were lol  
> Once again, you can follow along with the story of their childhood love over on my role play forum, it’s linked in my FFnet profile so don’t be a stranger! You can also follow my Tumblr for chapters and bonus content I can’t or won't post here or on FFnet, as well as for any and everything else that comes to mind involving them. My FFN is under the same name as this account, and my Tumblr is thegaycatdad.tumblr.com, like I said don’t be a stranger! I love getting more followers, and I follow back!

**~STARLETT~**

It had been 3 days since Stefan had made the choice that would now change the course of both their lives. They’d been hiding out in one of the rooms on the top floor, that was hidden and rarely used. Of course, it hadn’t been easy; the stress of everything they’d been through on top of what they had chosen for themselves caused them to bicker and disagree on just about everything in the last 3 days, but one thing had never changed. No matter how much they got frustrated and disagreed, neither could picture a single moment of the future without the other.

“There’s only one day left.” Stefan said with a long, huffy sigh. He couldn’t wait until they could leave this room. They’d been stuck here non-stop by themselves, their only contact outside of each other was with Aunt Bernie whenever she brought them food or water. She tried to keep them occupied with books and games, but even Oliver Twist was starting to feel overused and bothersome with the sluggish passing of time. The depressed rut they’d fallen into was taking quite a toll and they were both feeling impatient for when they could step outside and never return to this place again. “Then we can get out of this stuffy room and leave town.”

She watched him sitting in the chair from her spot on the bed, laying on her stomach with her arms curled underneath her. She could see the stress of the last year weighing down on him. The desire to sleep for days shining in his eyes and the pout that he always got with his eyebrows furrowed. She could see all the signs that he was getting too overwhelmed. After she miscarried their unplanned child near the beginning of the relationship she’d thought it would be enough to break him, but she’d been surprised when he seemed to recover over the course of the year. But with everything that had happened to them, and all the sudden changes they’d been unprepared to make, he was clearly straining to hold his head above the water and she worried through the night most nights that he would start to slowly lose his mind. She’d seen what stress had done to her mother, and it wasn’t pretty. She wasn’t sure she could bear watching the same thing happen to the strongest person in her life. “I wish we didn’t have to wait at all. I hate it here.” The one place she’d always felt safest was starting to look like home with her father again. Always cooped up in one place, afraid that her life might be forever altered on a path she doesn’t want if she steps outside the door.

Stefan looked up from the trinket he’d been fidgeting with and met her gaze. She was afraid; and he didn’t blame her. He hated that she had to feel afraid here like she never had before. He’d always wanted her to feel as if she never had to have any fears in his presence, but the fate they would meet were his father to find out they were here was out of his control. He couldn’t protect her form what might come, he could only rely on Bernie and her love and support for them to keep them and their presence a secret. “I’m so sorry, Scarlett.” He stood up and dropped the trinket into the chair behind him before crawling into the bed and pulling her closer to him, so he could hold her. “I would fix everything, so you don’t have to be afraid, if I could.” A knock at the door stopped them both before she could respond, and they both looked up. Normally Bernadette just came in, she didn’t bother with knocking because it would only force them to risk giving themselves away.

“I know you’re in there, Stefan.” Katherine’s voice carried through the door and Stefan and Scarlett both frowned in confusion. “No one is out here, just unlock the door. I can help you get out of here, and you won’t even have to wait until tomorrow!” Stefan hesitated but he got out of the bed and cautiously opened the door anyway. “There you are. I was beginning to think you’d taken off early, or were just ignoring me. Well, are you going to invite me inside?” She had that look that Scarlett knew far, far too well. It was the look she’d gotten every time she was around Stefan since she’d come to stay at the boarding house. She’d been trying to seduce him this entire time and had even almost managed to accomplish that task shortly after they’d confessed their love and thrown caution to the wind to be together. She sat up in the bed leaning against one arm and glared at the younger girl. She could see the mischief in Katherine’s eyes and she didn’t want to accept the offer, but she knew Stefan was too kind hearted to turn her down. He wanted to see the good in everyone, but she could see that Katherine was only offering so she could get something out of it.

“Uh…” Stefan seemed to be struggling to answer. She could tell he was uncomfortable with the situation, which was a relief, but she could also tell he was likely to say yes and Scarlett knew Katherine was going to take that opening of trust to destroy everything she held dear. She just needed to warn him, and surely, he’d listen right? He trusted her judgement? She hoped so. “Sure. Just, you know,…don’t tell anyone we’re here.” He opened the door all the way as to let her inside and she was quick to step into the room and squint her eyes at Scarlett. This was going to be a disaster; Scarlett could absolutely see it coming.

“Quaint.” Katherine commented as she sighed and looked around. Scarlett could feel the bile rise in her throat, but she did her best to swallow it down and wait for her opportunity. “Although I’m sure it helps it stay discreet, what son of such a rich man like Giuseppe would choose to hide out in a room like this? No one would suspect it.” Scarlett didn’t like anything about her. She was rude and intrusive and self-absorbed. All she wanted to do was wait out the last day with Stefan in this room alone, only Bernie ever coming to visit them. Especially not pretty brunettes like the one currently making eyes at her boyfriend while he cleared a space for her to sit in the chair, which had previously had some of Stefan’s clothes draped over it. 

“Can we just cut to the chase?” Stefan asked, gesturing for her to sit and then walking over and plopping himself down on the bed close to Scarlett. In an attempt to prove her priority over Katherine, she leaned forward and rested her chin on his shoulder while her hands gripped his shoulders. Stefan’s entire form settled against her and it was clear in his body language that he felt most at home when she was touching him. “You said you could help us. How?”

“You have no sense of patience, Stefan.” She was giving him that look she gave him, the one that only appeared when she said his name _that way_ like there was some secret sexual joke between them that no one else understood, but he was simply clueless to all of it and just rolled his eyes at her in response. “Tonight. After everyone goes to sleep, you should sneak out and meet me by the woods. Alone, obviously.” Her eyes landed on Scarlett and immediately the blonde knew exactly what this was about.

“No.” Scarlett replied for him. She wasn’t having that. She’d been through too much because of that woman and whatever it was that she’d done to Stefan to distract his focus. They already had enough on their plate, and a flirty little brat like Katherine getting in the way while they were trying to escape abuse and suppression wasn’t going to do them any good. “Anything you can say to him you can say to me, why not just tell us what to do now and leave it at that?”

Katherine’s expression went flat, and the anger flared in her eyes. “The information I poses isn’t free, you know I can get in trouble for helping you right? I won’t be putting my neck on the chopping block for a couple of bratty teenagers in love without knowing that my expectations and standards are being met. I’ll tell you on my terms, or I won’t tell you at all.” She stood from the chair, clearly offended by Scarlett’s words. “Make your decision. I’ll be waiting around midnight tonight, if you don’t show by 1 Am sharp I’ll just have to keep it to myself. It won’t make a difference to me.” With that, she walked to the door and left. Neither of them saw the smirk or the dark look on her face. She knew it would work, all she had to do was wait. Stefan was too desperate, and easily persuaded. Scarlett could tell him no all she wanted, but Katherine knew that in the end she’d get what she wanted and Scarlett would be left alone. And Katherine would have Stefan, and immortality, and everything she could imagine.

Scarlett’s jaw clenched as the door closed behind Katherine and she pushed herself away from Stefan, letting out a frustrated groan and a sigh. “I hate her! She thinks she’s fooling us, but it’s so obvious what she’s doing!” Stefan’s silence after she spoke caused the anxiety to fester in her gut and she looked at the side of his face with a slight frown. “You know what she’s doing, right Stefan? She’s trying to get you alone, she wants me away from you, so she can try and distract you from me.” She paused before she exclaimed, “Again!”

“You said yourself you wished we could get out of here sooner!” Stefan replied in an exasperated tone. “Come on, Scar. You know she doesn’t mean anything to me, it was just some…stupid trick. I don’t even know what it was. But I don’t care because it’s not going to work this time, I just want to get out of here, so we never have to be afraid of leaving the house again. Isn’t that what you want?”

“Not like this.” Scarlett shook her head and shrugged. “Not if it means giving her exactly what she wants. She wants to manipulate you, Stefan. Can’t you see that? It’s so obvious! If this were about helping, she’d have told us what to do already.”

“Nothing will happen! Look, I promise. I’ll go, I’ll make her just tell me what to do, and then I’ll come back, and we can leave. We can leave, and we never have to come back and see her or any of them ever again.” Stefan was practically begging. He didn’t want to be here anymore, he was tired of being stuck in this room and he wanted to be free to be with her in front of whoever he wanted whenever he wanted. For the rest of their lives.

“I’m not comfortable with this, please Stefan… it won’t change anything if we leave when we planned to.” She didn’t want this to happen. She wanted to know without a doubt for the last day they were here that she didn’t have to worry about him or what he might be doing. She didn’t want to be unsure or feel insecure because he was getting impatient, but if he’d made up his mind there wasn’t a whole lot she could do to change it.

“I promise I’ll be careful.” He said again. He wouldn’t hear any of it. He was dead set on leaving as soon as possible, even if that meant they had to be a little uncomfortable for a little bit. In response, Scarlett simply shook her head and scooted herself into the corner of the bed. She curled herself up, knees hugged to her chest and chin resting on top of them, and it was clear she had no intention of talking to him for the rest of the night.

**_Midnight_ **

Katherine had been waiting for 35 minutes. She almost wasn’t sure if Stefan was going to come; it seemed like there was almost no movement coming from the bedroom. Perhaps she had been wrong about his desperation and vulnerability, but those thoughts were quickly banished when she heard the window opening and someone climbing out and down the tree. He wasn’t that far from where she was standing, but he jogged to her anyway which left him slightly out of breath but not unable to speak when he got to her. “I almost thought you’d forgotten about me. Glad you finally made an appearance.” She smiled a sweet innocent kind smile and took a cautious step towards him. “You know I’ve always had a soft spot for you, that’s why I wanted to help any way I can.”

Stefan took a not-so-subtle step back and crossed his arms. “Just tell me what to do so I can go back to Scarlett and we can get out of here. I don’t have time for your games right now, you promised.”

Katherine’s expression drained of emotion and she let out a sigh. “Fine.” She pulled a small vile filled with a dark substance that he couldn’t quite place out of her hand bag. “Drink this. There’s only enough for one, but that’s all you need. It’ll give you the opening you need to leave, and make it so no one here can stop you. Everything will be prepared in 2 hours, all you must do is come outside prepared and packed.” She could see the skepticism in his eyes, and she prayed he wouldn’t ask any questions she couldn’t answer.

“This is fake.” He said, refusing to take the vile from her and taking a step back as he shook his head. “Scarlett was right. You’ll say and do anything to get close to me. I really thought you had more dignity than to go this far. Do you think I’m that clueless? What’s in there? I bet it’ll put me to sleep.”

Katherine had to make a decision here. Give him more information to gain his trust or lie to him and avoid the risk that he’ll figure out her ulterior motives. She decided that he was right; he wasn’t that clueless. She would have to give him something to believe in, some reason why she wouldn’t lie to him about this for him to take the bait. “It’s a potion.” She conceded, softening her tone and expression in the hopes that it would make him want to trust her more. “I got it from my handmaid, Emily. She makes them. It’ll help you. I promise, no more tricks from me. Young love is rare and beautiful. I want to preserve it as much as I can.” She wanted to preserve it for herself, by turning him and forcing him to leave that little girl behind. He was better than everyone here and she could see in him the potential for great darkness. She thrived on that, and more than anything wanted one chance to be happy. She was willing to do whatever it took to make sure her fate was sealed.

Stefan was reluctant, but he accepted the vile of deep amber liquid anyway. “What do I do once I drink it? Assuming it works.” He was still unsure, but he was too desperate to take chances. If this could get them out of here safely without having to be afraid of his father, he was willing to at least try.

“Wait here while I go inside, so it’s not suspicious.” She gathered her skirts and began walking back to the boarding house. “Drink it, go back inside and collect your lover, and then in about an hour you should be safe. I’d come out and check that the coast is clear in half an hour, I wouldn’t want there to be any unexpected hiccups.”

Stefan watched her leave. He had so many more questions, but he wasn’t sure where to start or how to ask. He swallowed hard and watched her disappear into the house, before giving himself a few minutes to avoid suspicion. Not that anyone would see him go inside anyway, he was going to be entering through a window to a guest room that no one ever used in the back of the house, where only the staff really spent any time.

When he did eventually climb back through the window, it was to the sight of Scarlett crying on the bed in much the same position as when he’d left her. They hadn’t said much since he’d decided to go see Katherine. Or, rather, _she_ hadn’t said much. He’d done his best to make light of the situation and show her that it wasn’t what she thought, and a part of him felt the self-righteous ego of being right when she was so often the one who was right about these things. But he knew it was best not to rub it in; especially considering she seemed so upset by the whole ordeal. “What’s wrong?” He asked, as if he didn’t already know. Of course he knew. She would have ben imagining the whole time he was gone all the different ways Katherine could have distracted him and convinced him to leave her, to let her return to her father without helping her escape or caring what happened to her in the slightest.

She just clenched her jaw and shook her head, refusing to look at him. She could still feel it in the air. Katherine hadn’t been truthful, no matter how much it seemed to them now that she had. And he was just going off and choosing to trust her despite what they knew. That she was manipulative, and never did anything if it didn’t get her something she wanted in return. “Please talk to me, Scar.” Stefan begged, sitting on his knees on the bed with the vile held tight in one fist. “She didn’t want anything to do with me. I swear. She gave me this.” He held out the vile, dark thick liquid swooshing around inside as her eyes met with it in his palm. “She said it would protect us, from my father in case he came out. We don’t even need Bernie, we already know where the stash of food is. I just have to get everything together, and then we can go. We never have to come back here again. She really just wanted to help, I…. I swear nothing happened.”

 She stared at it in his hand, brow furrowing with curiosity and fear. “What is it?” She asked, looking from the vile to his green eyes that were filled with so much hope for them both that she almost forgave him when she looked at them. But she still didn’t know how well she trusted Katherine, and the fact that he jumped so quickly to trusting her without thinking it through all the way was still grating at her. It terrified her, because without him she had nothing. She had no reason to leave in the first place, and she might as well just accept her fate of living out her days as he father’s daughter, with no possible way out. She couldn’t lose him, not to someone like Katherine who didn’t deserve him and wouldn’t know a single thing about how to help him or love him or be with him like she did.

“I don’t know. She said it was…a potion. Her hand maiden made it, I’m not sure what that means.” He shrugged and held it between two fingers, examining the liquid inside. “It doesn’t look very appetizing, but if it doesn’t work then I suppose…. There’s always Bernie’s friend tomorrow. Right?”

“But what if we get caught before tomorrow and it doesn’t work like she said it would? There’s not even enough for us both to have a decent amount anyway. I don’t know about this, Stef…” He could see how unsure she was, but he wanted more than anything to get out of here and be with her. Only her. For the rest of their lives. With no one else ever telling them what to do or how to live or who to love. No one else who could hurt her and make her feel so insecure like she did now.

“She said only one of us needed to take it. She said if I was the only one, I could protect us both and no one would get hurt. It’s just a precaution, a guarantee that we’ll get out of here and no one can stop us.” He watched her watch the vile before she took a long, hard deep breath and then nodded her consent. The smallest of smiles graced his face and he pulled the top off. “Here goes, then.” He tossed back the contents of the vile and then made a face. A shudder went down his spine and he shook his head with the force of his distaste. “That was worse than I expected.” Scarlett giggled despite herself and then narrowed her eyes at him as if punishing him for making her happy.

“Better hope it’s not poisoned. If you die, I’m following you to the underworld and kicking your ass myself.” The glare was more playful and endearing than it was menacing, and Stefan fought the urge to laugh at how cute and annoyed she looked. “I’m serious, Stefan Salvatore! What am I supposed to do without you? I can’t even think-“ She felt the emotion choke up her throat and stop her mid-sentence. “It’s not funny. I don’t even want to picture my life without you, how could you think that’s funny?”

“I’m not going to die, Scarlett!” He said, scooting closer and taking both her hands in his. His thumbs stroked over her wrists and he leaned in to press his forehead against hers. “I promise, nothing’s going to happen to me. I won’t ever leave you. Please just believe that, everything will be okay.” He could see how much she wanted to believe him, but she was reluctant. It showed in her eyes. The tears that welled up, the fear that met his when he looked into her blue ones. He knew it all too well, and it reminded him of how she looked when she was afraid of her father.

She sniffed out a small sound and wound her arms around his neck, burying her face against his shoulder and letting out a cry. “Please just be more careful. We’re practically fugitives now, we can’t trust anyone. They could mean us harm. _She_ could still mean us harm. You never know what could happen.”

“I’ll be more careful.” Stefan replied, tone soft as he pulled her closer and let her settle into his lap while his arms fit themselves around her in a comforting hug. “I love you more than anything in this world. No matter what happens, I’ll _always_ make it back to you. I promise.”

**_30 minutes later_ **

Scarlett was sitting in their shared guest room awaiting Stefan’s return. He’d gone out and gathered everything they needed only a few minutes ago, and then followed Katherine’s orders and snuck back out the window to check that the coast was clear. She was starting to hear voices, muffled and distant before but they were growing louder. Shouting. More than one person, and she could certainly recognize one of them as Stefan’s though she couldn’t quite tell If one of the others was Giuseppe or Damon. They sounded so similar when they got angry, and the distance didn’t make it any easier on her.

_Stefan had managed to make it out just fine. He’d checked that everything was clear and found no one. Not even the slightest of animals puttering about. He felt confident in their chances, but just as he was turning around to return to their room he heard it. The sound of his father’s voice rang out and he felt the cold dead fear strangle his vocal chords to silence. His eyes blown wide, Stefan turned slowly around to face the man he’d been hiding out from for almost the passed week. “F-father…”_

_“I knew you’d come back. Katherine told me you’d be here. She told me everything.” Absolute panic gripped Stefan’s insides. No. Scarlett had been right all along. What if that vile was poison? At least, he thought, it was him and not her. He wouldn’t survive without her. But she was strong. She was a fighter, and she would make it through no matter what. He believed in her. He knew she could do it. “She told me what you’ve become. How you’re not the man I thought you were. How could you! Betray me like that, and in my own home of all places!”_

_Stefan sucked in a long breath of air and did his best to placate the man. If that vile wasn’t poison, then he was surely going to die at the hands of his father if he didn’t get a handle on the situation, and fast. “Listen, it’s not what you think. I love her, father. Please. He was hurting her. I couldn’t make her go back, she needed me!”_

_“Needed you?” Giuseppe growled out, and suddenly the glistening barrel of the gun raised to eye level. It just caught in the light from the open front door, out of which Stefan knew Giuseppe must have come. “She used you! For her own sick games! She’s a monster, boy! And now…so are you.”_

_“Father, no! Please! I can explain, just….just let me explain! I love her, please you can’t do this, she needs me!” The shot rang out before he could even land on his knees to beg. He felt the bullet pierce his gut and he knew, in that moment, everything was over. He just hoped Scarlett had heard and had enough sense of mind to flee. He didn’t want him to find her. Didn’t want her to suffer the same fate as him. As he lay on the ground bleeding out, feeling the life slowly drain from his veins little by little, he saw the face of his father hovering just above him. “That brother of yours, too. He’s next. Fraternizing with vampires will not be accepted in my home. They’re the enemy. You made your choice. I had to make mine.”_

Scarlett heard the gunshot loud and clear, and it took all of her strength not to scream out in response. A fist came up and pressed against her mouth and she huddled in the corner, eyes glistening and tears falling at such a rapid pace that one couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began anymore. “No, no, no, no, please….” She hiccupped out a sob as she felt the world beginning to cave in around her. The front door slammed shut, and Giuseppe’s shouts could be heard throughout the house. He was dead. And now, there was no way for her to get out of here and survive on her own. She had nothing left. She could do nothing else but sit and stare at the bedroom door, hoping and praying Giuseppe wouldn’t come for her next.

**_To be continued…_ **


	8. Ripper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stefan and Scarlett have been kidnapped by a group of human hunters who's main goal seems to be to cause some kind of suffering to the Supernatural. This follows Stefan's sudden but inevitable chance at escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is once again M rated for graphic descriptions of violence/sexual acts. It may be triggering for some readers as there are threats of r*pe and mentions of violent sex. Please proceed at your own risk and click off if you’re finding yourself unable to continue without difficulty. 
> 
> This started out a lot different than it turned out. I was originally just gonna do a brief conversation where Stefan maybe gets hurt a lot, and the more I wrote the more it turned into Ripper going nuts cause these mofos kidnapped him and torture his wife and he doesn’t even know why. Like I don’t even have a good enough reason, they’re just trash human beings and should all die. 

**~STARLETT~**

He had been in this room exactly 3 months. At first, they’d allowed him a window that told him when the days passed, with nothing to do but plan his escape and count the number of drops that fell from the damp, rancid and slowly molding ceiling. By the time they got angry enough with his taunting comments to close the window, he’d memorized the number of times he heard the dripping sound in a day. It wasn’t always exactly the same, but he had some ballpark estimates that told him what time it could be.

They’d been practically starving him. Giving him just enough that he could function, but not enough to satisfy or strengthen him. So, he was practically wasting away alone in the dark, while they did all number of unthinkable things to his wife. The muscles in his jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth and a low rumbling growl escaped his chest. More than anything, more than blood and freedom and fresh air, Stefan wanted to get out of this room and rip their skulls in half with his bare hands. He wanted to dig out their spleens with a spoon and force feed it to them through a tube, which he would shove down their throats so hard that it tore and bruised and swelled around the thick plastic. He wanted them to feel every ounce and every second of the absolute rage he experienced with every passing second that she was locked in that room. The screaming made it worse. Every time she screamed, he could feel his resolve cracking just a little more. He may not have had an ounce of strength left in him, but he had more fight than he’d ever had before. Emotionally and mentally, he felt as if he could lift the world and toss it about if it meant getting her out of that room.

“Getting a little restless, are we?” Stefan hadn’t heard the man walk into the cellar. Although to be completely fair, he was so drained of energy that he could barely hear the water dripping from the ceiling and had to rely on his weak, blurred vision to tell him when they fell. “Maybe if that pretty little blonde of yours would just do as she’s told, you could get out of here and say hello to her for a few minutes.”

It took all of 49 seconds for Stefan to sluggishly drag himself from the bed and throw his body against the door to the room he was in, another feral growl forcing its way out of his vocal chords. “One more word about my wife and I’ll pull your spine out through your ass.” His voice was low and grumbly like it hadn’t been used in far too long. The words scratched and tore their way through his dry aching throat, and the craving for blood only grew stronger with every word he said.

The captor simply laughed and snapped his fingers, glancing once again towards the door to the dank smelly cellar inside of which his room was located. “Bring it in. He sounds like he could use something to soothe that throat. He’s all but starved!” The man on the other side of the door sounded smug. Stefan could see by the look in his eye, he was proud of himself. The door opened and in came another person. Stefan couldn’t see them from the small barred window that could be opened and closed on the metal door to his prison, but he assumed it was another of the captors. There were 7 of them. Stefan had officially met 3. Jared, Eden and Carmichael.

Jared was a young werewolf who’d abandoned his pack to help a wayward band of human hunters destroy anything that went bump in the night. He was inexperienced and stupid, Stefan need only push a few buttons and he would give away information about the others without giving it any prior thought. He hadn’t been allowed down here alone since the end of the first week, and even having a chaperone couldn’t keep his temper from flaring whenever Stefan tried to get under his skin. He had long shaggy brown hair that he rarely, if ever, brushed and stained yellowing teeth. His clothes were ratted and torn, but Stefan suspected that was just part of the age-old fad that had never really gone away of tearing your clothes and wearing them around anyway.

Eden was in his late 40s. All Stefan knew about him was that he’d dabbled in Satanism, which lead him to create a small group of men called The Wayward Brothers. It was named for some show called Supernatural with a guy named Paddlebackstreet, or something. He was the leader, and for some reason he showed his face the most. He was also the one in the room when Scarlett did the most screaming, and Stefan had been dreaming about ripping the beating heart right out of his chest since the first time he looked in Eden’s eyes. His blonde hair was kept cut short and oiled tight to his head. He often wore turtle neck shirts and clasped his hands behind his back like some pretentious cock sucker. It made Stefan hate him a million times more.

Carmichael was the one trying to taunt him now. He was in his early 20s and had “A way with the ladies” as he put it. He was always making little comments and passive innuendos about Scarlett, and that’s the thing that got on Stefan’s nerves the most. Normally, cocky little human trash cans like Carmichael wouldn’t bother him because they were pathetic and so far out of her league that he had to genuinely laugh at the idea of them trying. But Scarlett was currently helpless. Vervained daily, deprived of blood, tied down to God Knew What with vervain soaked rope. If he suddenly decided it was worth the backlash it would get him from Eden, Carmichael could do anything he wanted to her. And then that would be the end. Stefan would be driven too far. He would use every ounce of strength he had left to pry his way out of his little cell and then slowly peel them apart inch by inch, starting with their skin, until every single one of them was dead. And the first one to go would be Carmichael.

The new person stopped before they could be seen, and Stefan figured it could be Reeta or Stacey or Brandon, because they often brought things to the other three, but he was never allowed to see their faces. They couldn’t have him witnessing too much, if he managed to get out he could hunt them all down and kill them. If he didn’t know what to look for, they could send someone else. Some of them were young and stupid. But some of them, like Eden and the two nameless humans, had been doing this for a long time. Long enough to have learned how to protect not only themselves but their mission. He knew that Reeta was new and had only been around for less than a week. He remembered the first time she came to the room, Jared had been there with Eden and made fun of her for being new and stupid. She’d almost come too close out of curiosity, nearly gave herself away. The blood loss and delirium had caused the Ripper to start making appearances, and that first day Stefan hadn’t been able to get the image of stripping her nude and draining her through the vein in her thigh out of his head for the rest of the night. Years of studying Psychology had taught him that had to do with his father over-sexualizing his position as a man and his older brother demonstrating self-empowerment by taking many women to bed and leaving them cold, broken and alone in the morning. The ripper told him it was because he pictured her as another snobby brunette just like Katherine, whom he hated with a raging passion.

He didn’t know which answer to believe more, or if it was just two sides of the same coin. It didn’t matter, either way everyone here was going to die. “We need you to be strong enough to at least be miserable while we torture your wife, otherwise it’s no fun!” The one thing that had somehow managed to escape Jared and his big mouth was their motive. Stefan was under the assumption that he didn’t know, after all why would they trust their most guarded of secrets to their weakest link? But if it was suffering they wanted to see from him, then he wasn’t going to give them that. If the pain and horror Scarlett was going through was only on his behalf, then he would take his behalf off the table. He wouldn’t be there to hate them for it, so they’d be forced to find some other way to fix their problem. That probably meant one of them would have to go in the room with him, and then it would be over. They’d all be done for. As soon as he got his hands on just one of them, every single person in this place except for his wife would be dead in minutes. The Ripper had no control, and in this moment, he didn’t feel like trying to force him down. He was in love with Scarlett just as much as Stefan himself, had grown up loving her just the same because Stefan suspected he’d always been around. He was just as aggravated at all of their stupid little games as Stefan and the latter didn’t see it very reasonable to deny him their just deserts.

“And what if I don’t want to? What if I tune it out, let myself dessecate in here like a corpse? What are you gonna do about it then?” Stefan tilted his head with that mere cat grin he got whenever he felt he had the upper hand on any of them, and he reveled in the way the human’s face crumpled in annoyance. Stefan had finally found Carmichael’s breaking point. Push back as hard as you can, and he’ll start to fizzle.

“You wouldn’t dare leave me alone with her and we both know it. If you go to sleep, her legs are very much open and waiting. Don’t make this harder on her, or should I say _in_ her, than it needs to be. I can torture her in ways you couldn’t stomach. You go to sleep, and it’s over.” It was too late. The big talk was getting Carmichael nowhere. Stefan had seen the fear in his eyes. He would be punished if Stefan refused to take the blood, it was clear on his face and in the way his hands were just barely shaking.

“Are you sure you won’t get beat by your Great Leader? Eden wants me alive. I may not know why, but I know it’s true. If you let me refuse that blood, you’ll become the lowest of the low. You’ll hit rock bottom and they won’t care about you or your shitty problems anymore. You’ll become a bottom feeder, begging for any and all signs of approval from them. And then you’ll grow old and die knowing you fucked up the one thing they asked you to do, and it’ll eat you up inside. That is; if you live long enough. Maybe they’ll just kill you. I know Eden’s just been dying to drive a stake through someone’s heart, and if he can’t kill me then that only leaves you petty imbeciles out here fighting for his attention. Sometimes I think you’d rather take him hard up the ass than give it to my wife soft and shriveled any day of the week, am I right?” Stefan smirked, eyes alight with the ego of taking his attacker down a peg. The girl who brought the blood coughed to cover a laugh and he was struck with an overwhelming sense of familiarity that he couldn’t quite place. The look of horror on Carmichael’s face was enough to make The Ripper purr. His voice grew deeper and his eyes darkened with a rage so intense it almost felt lustful. “I bet you would just love for him to pin you to a wall somewhere.”

“Shut up.”

“His dick hard and twitching while you pull down your pants and stick out that tight little ass.”

“I said shut up!”

“I bet you can’t _wait_ for the day he finally sees you and decides he wants to pound into you until you scream in agony.” There was a loud _bang_ and a telling crunch as Carmichael punched the metal door and consequently broke 3 of the knuckles in his hand. The Ripper simply let out a low breathy laugh and slowly pushed his way off the door, walking backwards towards the wall. “I hope he wears a metal studded dildo so you’ll never be able to walk again.” Stefan’s back hit the wall and he slid down, shit-eating grin painted all across his face.

“Get your ass over here and drink this blood before I come in there and force it down your throat myself.” Stefan ignored the man, and in a fit of rage that put him in a state of near delirium, Carmichael threw the door open with as much might as his frail unbroken left hand could muster and snagged the small cup of blood from the tray holding it and an opened blood bag. “I’m not afraid of you. You’re just a stupid pest!”

“That might not be such a great idea.” Stefan replied, the sound of a laugh flirting with the tone in his voice and making it sound almost giddy. Carmichael ignored his words and stepped inside the cell. Before either of them could blink, the cell door was closing behind him, and the sound of a lock rang out. They both turned to look at the face just outside the bars to find Lexi, smirking and watching Stefan with a kind of monster-like glow.

“Reeta! What the hell are you doing?! Open the doors, he’ll kill me!” A million questions ran through Stefan’s head, but he refused to ask any of them. He thought Reeta was human? He could have sworn he’d heard her heart beating every time she’d been in the vicinity, but maybe that was just his muddled blood deprived mind playing tricks on him and thinking the beating heart of another captor had been hers. But now wasn’t the time for questions. Now was the time to regain as much strength as he possibly could and then kill every single mother fucker in this joint.

“Her name’s not Reeta.” Stefan replied, before standing to his feet and making it to Carmichael in half a second flat. “But you can call her that if it makes your dying moments feel less like getting stabbed in the back by some poor innocent little girl.” Before the human could even reply, Stefan’s teeth had extended, and he’d ripped half of Carmichael’s neck clean off and dropped the offending chunk of skin to the floor. There were some gurgled sounds of life as the blood spurted out and filled vocal chords, wind pipes, and lungs and slowly but surely suffocated him to death in front of Stefan. This wasn’t meant to be a feeding kill, as much as he wanted every last drop of blood that was spilling out over the stone floor. He could feel the vervain running through the pest’s blood burning all down his chin and chest as it dripped down the front of him. It would do him absolutely no good to force long heavy gulps of the thick liquid down his throat.

“God, you have _no_ idea how long I’ve been waiting for that to happen.” The lock on the door clicked and the metal creaked as she swung the door open. “Sorry it took me so long. First, I had to find these idiots, and then I had to compel them all to believe I was human and my name was Reeta. Do you know how hard it is to compel people who take vervain every day? I had to find a way to hide their stash before they knew who I was, and they’re _nosey mother fuckers_. It took days just to get through phase one, and then I had to make sure they trusted me. That took another three weeks.” Lexi stopped when she saw the look on Stefan’s face. He wasn’t listening to her at all, his attention was entirely encaptured by the blood bag on the tray in her hands. “Oh, right! Sorry, here.” She handed it to him and tossed the tray haphazardly aside. It’s not as if she’d be needing it any time soon, and she really didn’t like anyone here enough to respect their property. In fact, she had exactly the opposite respect for them.

Stefan ripped through the bag with greedy delight and sucked the contents of it dry before tossing it aside and running a sleeveless arm across his mouth, effectively smearing the blood and making an even bigger mess than he’d already made. The vervain was starting to wear off and he was finally ready to go out and kill more of them. Thank God for hot blondes who showed up at the last minute, exactly when they were needed the most. He didn’t say a word to Lexi, he simply took off running in the direction of the closest beating heart to him.

It didn’t take him long to get through 4 of the other 5 captors. Somewhere along the way, he’d picked up a wooden bat, but he’d used it so many times to bash their skulls in that he’d managed to actually break it. The tip had come off, leaving a jagged wooden point that was splintered and looked as if it would do some real damage to the insides of any human. Let alone a helpless one stuck in a room alone.

He was almost glad Eden had kept to his narcissistic ways and fled for his life, hiding in the nearest room to his dwelling when Stefan had been announced “Missing in Action” by the gravely electronic voice on the speakers, which had caught Stefan walking out of his damp basement of a cellar on camera. Of course Eden hadn’t cared about any of his Wayward Brothers and-slash-or Sisters. He was just a lonely prick, who didn’t ever consider anyone but himself. What he wanted, what he desired. A part of Stefan felt a twinge as he saw Eric Greyson in the older man. So put together and poised, yet so volatile. Ready to shatter at any given second, laughing with you like old friends in one instant and throwing you out onto his doorstep with a firm hand the next. Unpredictable, and horrible. It felt almost symbolic to take his life. He could hear the sound of the last heartbeat in the house, pace so fast it could rival that of a hummingbird. The ripper grinned and Stefan felt the growl bubble up in his chest. His hearing wasn’t quite back to pique condition, but he’d had 3 blood bags that were found sitting in a cooler in the lounge room. He had to fight off one of the unnamed captors there, but it hadn’t been difficult.

By his guestimate, the room Eden had hidden himself in was about six doors down from where Stefan was standing. It could take him exactly point twelve seconds to run from here to there, but he wanted to savor this. The few moments of heaving, sweating, horror filled life this man had left to live were oh so sweet on the tip of Stefan’s tongue. He could almost taste the tears that fell on his cheeks as he realized he’d made such a horrible mistake. You don’t just kidnap and torture Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore. Doing that only serves to unleash a beast you will not soon forget. And the closer said beast drew to the door concealing his fifth and final victim, his ears began to pick up on something other than a heartbeat. The sound of struggling. He could hear Scarlett’s muffled grunts and the rope that was likely digging into her skin being moved and adjusted and pulled at. “Shut up!” Whispered Eden. “He’ll hear us, he’s on the lose! And with the way he’s been acting lately, I wouldn’t be too surprised if he came after you once he’s done with me. Your husband may not be the man you thought he was.” He heard her telltale laughter. That sarcastic kind of snort-turned-giggle that she always made whenever someone assumed she didn’t already know about his dark side. She’d watched it blossom and then die so many times he was sure she lost count. They thought she was ignorant to the truth, but she was the catalyst. And they were stupid enough to think she didn’t see him for what he was.

“I wouldn’t count on that.” Her voice sounded tired and drained. Raspy with lack of blood and likely due to the burn of vervain. As he understood it thanks to Jared, they’d been force feeding it to her by the spoonful. He liked the bite in her tone, though. That was his wife. Never one to let her guard down, especially in front of someone like Eden or her father, Eric. To prolong the obvious horror of their final captor, Stefan let his boots fall loud and heavy against the linoleum floors and started whistling a chipper tune from one of the many movie adaptions of Oliver Twist. The bat was slung over his shoulder casually and he stopped to kick open every door leading up to Scarlett’s. “He’s taunting you.” Scarlett mentioned to the human, and the tone of her voice indicated that she was serious but amused. She tugged on the restraints again and then let out an annoyed sigh, just as he was coming to a stop in front of her door.

“Oh captain.” Stefan called in a sing-song voice. “I know you’re in there.” He tapped the tip of the bat on the door and chuckled. “Open the door. Before I huff, and I puff-“

“You walk through that door and your wife dies!”

Before another word could be said, the door flung open so hard it slammed into the wall, and Stefan was beside Eden plucking the stake out of his hands with minimal effort. “You make a lot of empty threats, my man.” Stefan’s eyes darkened, and his teeth extended. “Maybe if you’d actually followed through with those once or twice, we wouldn’t be in this situation.” He cackled as Eden pulled back and slid across the floor away from him. “You’ll just have to wait your turn, see I have this _pretty little blonde_ here who probably wouldn’t mind losing these.” He fingered the ropes and hissed slightly as they burned his skin. “I always forget that humans think they’re clever now.” He wrapped one entire fist around the ropes on the hand closest to him and yanked hard. It came loose rather easily though it seared through the first few layers of his skin. It would heal by the time they got home. Despite knowing this, he shook his hand as if to shake off the injuries. The other ropes were quick to follow and in no time, he had her on her feet brushing off dust and blood and whatever else had gotten on her since they first stepped into this place.

Just as he set her on her feet, Eden made a break for the door, but Stefan was quick to react, beating him to it by a good few seconds. Scarlett, in her weakened deprived state, swayed on her feet with the absence of his steadying grip on her hips and had to catch herself on the metal gurney. Stefan pulled a fourth blood bag out of his back pocket that he’d been saving for this exact moment and tossed it her way. She barely missed, and it landed on the gurney, sliding just a few inches before it stopped completely and was quickly swiped up into her waiting hands.

Stefan grabbed Eden around the back of the neck and hauled him over to the rickety chair in the corner, forcing him down into it and then sliding it noisily over to sit in front of Scarlett, who had quickly taken to seating herself on the gurney with her legs dangling down while she sucked from the blood bag hungrily. “What do you wanna do with him?” He asked as he paced a slow, deliberate circle around their captor in the middle of the room.

“I want to kill him.” Scarlett said flatly, eyes seeping exhaustion and revealing the pain that was likely still radiating throughout her entire body from all of the things they’d done to her. “And then I want to leave this place behind and go home. And I never want to come back here again.” She dropped the blood bag on the gurney beside her and hopped down. She almost lost her balance once again, but Stefan was quick to step in and catch her before she could topple into the metal bed. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, hoping that would help return some of her lost strength. Stefan grabbed the splintered baseball bat off the floor where he’d dropped it when Eden was trying to escape and placed it in her hands. “Do I even want to ask?” She rose a brow as she examined the blood coated baseball bat and Stefan offered a sheepish smile and a shrug.

“Probably not. I did get a little carried away, but at least I didn’t eat any of them.” Scarlett just sighed and rolled her eyes but motioned for him to step aside so she could get a better shot at him. “This is gonna hurt.” Before he could make another sound, she’d shoved the wooden bat clear through his heart and out through his back.

**_A few hours later_ **

It had taken them ages to find a road back home. It turns out they were only a few states out, not as far as they’d been dragged by douchebag hunters in the past and certainly not far enough that taking a car was inconvenient. Which was a relief. Trying to compel your way through a plane ride when you look like you just fought in world war 3 is a lot harder than it sounds. Compelling the people at a car rental place to waver all fees and requirements and just give you a car is a much simpler process, there’s not as many people to manipulate and interact with and you can just get your car and go. Easier on everyone.

The three of them had all finally managed to settle down in the same place, along with Ben. Ben hadn’t come along on the little rescue mission because someone had needed to stay behind and keep an eye on the kids while half of them had missing parents and the other half had one that was running off to save their sorry asses. But it was okay, because they were home now. The kids had stayed with Lexi and Ben for the night, because they were all in need of a little R&R, but the two Salvatores were likely the ones who needed it the most.

Stefan was just stepping out of the shower and managed to put on a pair of boxers and old sweats but left the rest on the bathroom floor to be picked up later. They had showered together, of course, and it was the first time they’d had an opportunity to be alone together in months. It felt like a breath of fresh air. A weight had been lifted off their shoulders, knowing they were relatively safe now and they knew to keep an eye out for any possible dangers or threats to their persons or their family. “Thank God that’s over.” He commented as he plopped down on the bed beside her, one arm naturally falling around her waist and pulling her into a casual spoon.

“I really didn’t think we’d get out of there as soon as we did. I thought maybe we’d spend years stuck in that place.” Scarlett replied. Stefan couldn’t tell if she was more bitter or sad. Either way he could completely understand and relate to her feelings.

“Thank God for Lexi. Although I think she’ll eventually get tired of playing the White Night to our Damsels in Distress.” Scarlett laughed at that and ran a hand over his forearm before turning over in the circle of his arms and pressing herself against his chest, arms winding tight around his torso.

“You’re not still Ripping it up, are you?” She asked, peeking up at him through her lashes, most of her face still hidden in his chest.

“He’s still here, but he’s quiet right now. I think he was starting to feel just as exhausted as I was. Which is a surprise, because some days I thought the only reason I was still alive was because of the bloodlust.”  Stefan shrugged and tightened his arms around her, burying his face in her hair with a long content sigh. “He’s in love with you just as much as I am. I’m sure he’s just happy knowing everyone got out alive and none of them had the chance to actually do anything deadly or life changing.” He knew this wouldn’t be the last of him, though. The Ripper had made a full-blown appearance for the first time in over a decade. He hadn’t been able to control himself or his choices. It was all just a jumbled mess, and even though he’d still been present the whole time the Ripper had still had complete control. The Ripper wouldn’t give up that feeling so easily, especially now that the fear of a sixth or seventh hunter was planted in his head. It would take months of effort and hard work and personal control to keep The Ripper from taking over completely, but one thing that always made it worth it, the one thing that always made it possible was her. And, of course she’d be there to see him through it because she always was. It would be hard, and he would have to rebuild a lot of the walls that had been torn down in that cellar, but so long as he was holding her hand he could walk through any fire and make it out on the other side untouched. “All I really care about is that you’re here, and I’m here, and everything is okay. Just for a moment.”

> He felt her smile against him and he let out another sigh before they both started to doze off into the wee morning hours. They had a lot of sleeping to catch up on, and maybe a few other things that definitely weren’t child friendly. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.


End file.
